Frameless interior rearview mirror assembly

ABSTRACT

An interior rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle includes a mirror casing and a prismatic interior reflective element. The reflective element comprises a wedge-shaped glass substrate having a perimeter edge about a periphery of the glass substrate and extending between first and second surfaces thereof. The glass substrate has a mirror reflector established at the second surface. A front surface of the perimeter edge provides a smooth curved transition at the perimeter edge between a perimeter region of the first surface and the mirror casing. The front surface of the perimeter edge is rounded with a radius of curvature of at least about 2.5 mm. No portion of the mirror casing encompasses the first surface of the glass substrate.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/809,540, filed Jul. 27, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,637,055,which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/572,020,filed Dec. 16, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,090,212, which is a division ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/280,870, filed May 19, 2014, nowU.S. Pat. No. 8,922,867, which is a division of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/498,597, filed May 30, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,730,553,which is a 371 national phase application of PCT Application No.PCT/US2010/051741, filed Oct. 7, 2010, which claims the benefit of U.S.provisional applications, Ser. No. 61/261,839, filed Nov. 17, 2009, andSer. No. 61/249,300, filed Oct. 7, 2009, which are hereby incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties, and U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/498,597 is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/265,613, filed Oct. 21, 2011, which is a 371 national phaseapplication of PCT Application No. PCT/US2010/032017, filed Apr. 22,2010, which claims the benefit of U.S. provisional applications, Ser.No. 61/187,112, filed Jun. 15, 2009, and Ser. No. 61/172,022, filed Apr.23, 2009.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of rearview mirrorassemblies for vehicles and, more particularly, to an interior rearviewmirror assembly that is adjustably mounted to an interior portion of avehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Typically, an automatically dimming electro-optic interior rearviewmirror assembly, such as an electrochromic interior rearview mirrorassembly or the like, includes a mirror reflective element that is atleast partially received in a casing, sometimes with a bezel portion ofthe casing snapped to or integral with the rest of the casing/housing sothat the bezel portion of the casing overlaps or encompasses a perimeteredge of the reflective element and overlaps on/encroaches onto a portionor perimeter region of an outer or front surface of the reflectiveelement (the surface facing the driver of the vehicle when the mirrorassembly is normally mounted in the vehicle). The reflective element isadjustable by the driver to adjust the rearward field of view providedby the mirror reflective element.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an interior rearview mirror assembly thatincludes a casing and an electro-optic reflective element (such as anelectrochromic reflective element) attached to or adhered to a surfaceor portion of the casing or bezel, with no bezel portion overlapping orencompassing a perimeter edge or front surface of the reflectiveelement.

According to an aspect of the present invention, an interior rearviewmirror assembly for a vehicle includes a mirrorholder/casing/housing/shroud/cap and an interior rearview mirrorreflective element. The reflective element comprises a glass substratehaving a front surface and a rear surface. The reflective elementcomprises a mirror reflector established at a surface of the mirrorreflective element other than the front surface of the glass substrate(and forming or establishing a mirror reflecting surface of thereflective element). The front surface of the glass substrate generallyfaces the driver of the vehicle when the interior rearview mirrorassembly is normally mounted in the vehicle. The mirrorholder/casing/housing/shroud/cap at least partiallyreceives/accommodates the mirror reflective element therein and themirror holder/casing/housing/shroud/cap comprises an element thatprotrudes beyond the rear surface of the glass substrate and towards thefront surface of said glass substrate in order to enclose the reflectingsurface of the reflective element in the mirrorholder/casing/housing/shroud/cap when the mirror reflective element isat least partially received in the mirror holder. The glass substratehas a slanted rear perimeter edge-portion (formed such as by grinding orablation) along the perimeter circumference of the rear surface of theglass substrate to accommodate the element of the mirrorholder/casing/housing/shroud/cap and the glass substrate has a beveledfront perimeter along the perimeter circumference of the front surfaceof the glass substrate. The beveled circumferential front perimeter isexposed to, is contactable by, and is viewable by, the driver of thevehicle when the interior rearview mirror assembly is normally mountedin the vehicle.

The mirror holder encloses the mirror reflector and the reflectingsurface of the mirror reflective element when the mirror reflectiveelement is at least partially received in the mirrorholder/casing/housing/shroud/cap. Optionally, the circumferentialbeveled outboard or front perimeter of the glass substrate may have aradius of curvature of at least about 2.5 mm other than at the generallyplanar (flat) surface that constitutes the rest of the first or frontsurface of the glass substrate. Optionally, the beveled outboard orfront perimeter of the glass substrate provides a convex-curvedtransition between the generally planar or flat front surface of theglass substrate and a side wall of the mirrorholder/casing/housing/shroud/cap. Optionally, the formed or slanted rearor inboard perimeter edge-portion of the glass substrate is formed orslanted or angled or curved or chamfered to correspond to a formed orslanted or angled or curved or chamfered element established at themirror holder/casing/housing/shroud/cap.

Optionally, the mirror reflective element may comprise a prismaticmirror reflective element and the reflecting surface of the mirrorreflective element comprises the rear surface of the glass substrate.Optionally, the mirror reflective element may comprise an electro-opticreflective element and the glass substrate comprises the front substrateof the electro-optic reflective element and the reflecting surfacecomprises a surface of a rear substrate of the electro-optic reflectiveelement.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an interiorrearview mirror assembly for a vehicle comprises a casing and anelectro-optic reflective element. The reflective element comprises afront substrate having a front or first surface (the surface thatgenerally faces the driver of the vehicle when the mirror assembly isnormally mounted in the vehicle) and a rear or second surface oppositethe front surface, and a rear substrate having a front or third surfaceand a rear or fourth surface, with an electro-optic medium (such as anelectrochromic medium) disposed between the second or rear surface ofthe front substrate and the third or front surface of the rear substrateand bounded by a perimeter seal. The second surface has a transparentelectrically conductive coating established thereat. The front substratehas a substantially opaque perimeter band circumferentially establishedaround and disposed at its periphery border region (such as along aperimeter region of the second surface of the front substrate) to hideor conceal the perimeter seal of the reflective element. The thirdsurface of the rear substrate (i.e., the surface that opposes the secondsurface of the front substrate and with the electro-optic mediumdisposed therebetween) may have a reflective mirror reflector coated orestablished thereat. The rear or fourth surface of the reflectiveelement is attached, such as adhered, to a mounting plate or attachmentplate or the like (that may include a pivot connection for attaching toa mounting structure for mounting the mirror assembly at an interiorportion of the vehicle), or to a mounting surface or portion of thecasing or bezel (where the casing may include a pivot connection forattaching to a mounting structure for mounting the mirror assembly at aninterior portion of the vehicle) or the like. When the reflectiveelement is attached at the casing or bezel, the bezel encompasses theperimeter edge of the front substrate of the reflective element, butdoes extend over or encompass the perimeter region of the front surfaceof the reflective element.

Optionally, a perimeter portion of the rear substrate may be cutawayand/or the front substrate may overhang or extend beyond a correspondingperimeter portion of the rear substrate, and one or more capacitiveswitches or sensors may be established at the cutaway or overhangregion. The transparent electrically conductive coating at the secondsurface may be laser etched or otherwise etched or scribed or locallyremoved to provide a switch portion at the overhang region that iselectrically isolated from the rest of the transparent electricallyconductive coating at the second surface of the front substrate. Anelectrical lead or wiring or trace may be electrically connected betweencircuitry within the mirror assembly and the electrically isolatedtransparent electrically conductive coating at the overhang region todetect the presence or touch of a person's finger at the switch regionor overhang region.

These and other objects, advantages, purposes and features of thepresent invention will become apparent upon review of the followingspecification in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of an interior rearview mirror assembly inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an upper plan view of the interior rearview mirror assembly ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the interior rearview mirror assembly ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the interior rearview mirror assemblytaken along the line A-A in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the area B in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a side elevation and partial sectional view of anotherinterior rearview mirror assembly in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 is a front elevation of an electrochromic interior rearviewmirror assembly of the present invention;

FIG. 7A is a sectional view of the electrochromic interior rearviewmirror assembly, taken along the line A-A in FIG. 7;

FIG. 7B is an enlarged view of the area B in FIG. 7A;

FIGS. 8A-E are enlarged views of the lower edge of other electrochromicinterior rearview mirror assemblies of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a front elevation of a prismatic interior rearview mirrorassembly of the present invention;

FIG. 9A is a sectional view of the prismatic interior rearview mirrorassembly, taken along the line A-A in FIG. 9;

FIG. 9B is an enlarged view of the area B in FIG. 9A;

FIGS. 10A-E are enlarged views of the lower edge of other prismaticinterior rearview mirror assemblies of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of another interior rearviewmirror assembly of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a schematic of a touch sensor system suitable for use in aninterior rearview mirror assembly of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a schematic of a touch sensor system suitable for use in aninterior rearview mirror assembly of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a graph of the voltages applied over time by the system ofFIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a graph of a timer count over time by the system of FIG. 13;

FIG. 16 is a graph of voltage over time for the touch sensor system ofFIG. 13;

FIG. 17 is a flow chart of a control process of the user inputs of theinterior rearview mirror assembly of FIG. 11;

FIG. 18 is a front elevation of another interior rearview mirrorassembly of the present invention;

FIG. 19 is a front elevation of another interior rearview mirrorassembly of the present invention; and

FIGS. 20A-N are sectional views of other interior rearview mirrorassemblies of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings and the illustrative embodiments depictedtherein, an interior rearview mirror assembly 10 for a vehicle includesa mirror casing or housing or shroud or cap or holder 12, a reflectiveelement 14 positioned at a front portion of the mirror casing 12 and abezel or front casing portion 16 disposed around a periphery of thereflective element. Mirror assembly 10 is adjustably mounted to aninterior portion of a vehicle (such as to an interior surface of avehicle windshield or a headliner of a vehicle or the like) via amounting structure or mounting configuration or assembly 18. The bezelportion 16 receives the reflective element therein and encompasses theperimeter edges of the reflective element 14 and attaches to thenon-bezel portion of the mirror casing 12, such as via snapping orotherwise attaching to a forward perimeter edge region 12 a of mirrorcasing 12. As can be seen in FIG. 4, the bezel portion 16 does notoverlap or encompass the perimeter regions of the front surface of thereflective element 14, so as to provide flush or generally coplanarsurfaces across the front of the bezel portion and the front surface ofthe reflective element, as discussed below.

Reflective element 14 may comprise an electro-optic (such aselectrochromic) reflective element or may comprise a prismatic orwedge-shaped reflective element. Reflective element 14 includes a frontsubstrate 20 having a front or first surface 20 a (the surface thatgenerally faces the driver of a vehicle when the mirror assembly isnormally mounted in the vehicle) and a rear or second surface 20 bopposite the front surface 20 a, and a rear substrate 22 having a frontor third surface 22 a and a rear or fourth surface 22 b opposite thefront surface 22 a, with an electro-optic medium disposed between thesecond surface 20 b and the third surface 22 a and bounded by aperimeter seal of the reflective element (such as is known in theelectrochromic mirror art). The second surface 20 a has a transparentconductive coating established thereat, while the third surface 22 a hasa conductive coating (such as a metallic reflector coating for a thirdsurface reflector mirror element or such as a transparent conductivecoating for a fourth surface reflector mirror element) establishedthereat.

Reflective element 14 includes an opaque or substantially opaque orhiding perimeter layer or coating or band 23 (FIG. 1) disposed around aperimeter edge region of the front substrate 20 (such as at a perimeterregion of the rear or second surface 20 b of the front substrate) toconceal or hide or the perimeter seal from viewing by the driver of thevehicle when the mirror assembly is normally mounted in the vehicle.Such a hiding layer or perimeter band may be reflective or notreflective and may utilize aspects of the perimeter bands and mirrorassemblies described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,066,112; 7,626,749; 7,274,501;7,184,190 and/or 7,255,451, and/or PCT Application No.PCT/US2010/032017, filed Apr. 22, 2010, and/or U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005 and published Mar. 23, 2006 asU.S. Pat. Pub. No. US-2006-0061008, which are hereby incorporated hereinby reference in their entireties. Optionally, the perimeter band maycomprise a chrome/chromium coating or metallic coating and/or maycomprise a chrome/chromium or metallic coating that has a reducedreflectance, such as by using an oxidized chrome coating or chromiumoxide coating or “black chrome” coating or the like (such as byutilizing aspects of the mirror assemblies described in U.S. Pat. Nos.7,184,190 and/or 7,255,451, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties). Optionally, other opaque orsubstantially opaque coatings or bands may be implemented whileremaining within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

The reflective element 14 and mirror casing 12 are adjustable relativeto the mounting arm or pivot assembly 18 to adjust the driver's rearwardfield of view when the mirror assembly is normally mounted at or in thevehicle. The mirror assembly includes a socket or pivot mount 24 thatmay receive a ball member of a mounting arm of the pivot assembly ormounting structure 18, such as a double pivot or double ball mountingstructure or a single pivot or single ball mounting structure or thelike (such as a pivot mounting assembly of the types described in U.S.Pat. Nos. 6,318,870; 6,593,565; 6,690,268; 6,540,193; 4,936,533;5,820,097; 5,100,095; 7,249,860; 6,877,709; 6,329,925; 7,289,037;7,249,860 and/or 6,483,438, and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005 and published Mar. 23, 2006 as U.S. Pat.Pub. No. US-2006-0061008, and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US2010/028130,filed Mar. 22, 2010, which are hereby incorporated herein by referencein their entireties). The mounting assembly may have a ball or socketelement mounted to or attached to or established at a mirror attachmentplate or backing plate (which may optionally include or incorporatecircuitry thereat or thereon) that is attached at the rear surface ofthe mirror reflective element (optionally with a mirror casing disposedover or receiving the attachment plate or with a cap portion of a mirrorassembly attaching to the backing plate or the like, such as byutilizing aspects of the mirror assemblies described in U.S. Pat. No.7,289,037, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety), or the mounting assembly may have a ball or socket elementmounted to or attached to or established at a portion of the mirrorcasing (or to an attachment element disposed at or in the mirrorcasing), where the ball or socket or pivot joint element pivotallyattaches to a mounting arm or mounting structure that attaches to aninterior portion of the vehicle, such as an inner surface of the vehiclewindshield or the like.

In the illustrated embodiment, mounting assembly 18 comprises asingle-ball or single-pivot mounting assembly whereby the reflectiveelement and casing are adjustable relative to the vehicle windshield (orother interior portion of the vehicle) about a single pivot joint.Mounting assembly 18 includes a base portion or mounting base 26 and amounting arm 28, with the reflective element 14 and mirror casing 12pivotally mounted at ball end 28 a of mounting arm 28 about a mirrorball pivot joint (such as a ball and socket joint or the like thatallows for a driver of the vehicle to which mirror assembly 10 ismounted to adjust the reflective element to adjust the rearward field ofview of the driver). Optionally, the mounting assembly may compriseother types of mounting configurations, such as a double-ball ordouble-pivot mounting configuration or the like, while remaining withinthe spirit and scope of the present invention.

In the illustrated embodiment, mounting base 26 is attached to aninterior surface of a vehicle windshield (such as to a mounting buttonor attachment element adhered to the interior surface of the vehiclewindshield). The mounting base may be mounted to a mounting button orattachment element at the vehicle windshield via a breakaway mountingconstruction, such as by utilizing aspects of the mounting constructionsdescribed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,820,097 and/or 5,100,095, which are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties. Mounting arm 28may comprise a molded (such as injection molded) polymeric mounting armor may be otherwise formed, depending on the particular application ofthe mirror assembly (and may utilize aspects of the mounting assembliesdescribed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,318,870; 6,593,565; 6,690,268; 6,540,193;4,936,533; 5,820,097; 5,100,095; 7,249,860; 6,877,709; 6,329,925;7,289,037; 7,249,860 and/or 6,483,438, and/or U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005 and published Mar. 23, 2006 asU.S. Pat. Pub. No. US-2006-0061008, and/or PCT Application No.PCT/US2010/028130, filed Mar. 22, 2010, which are hereby incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties).

Mirror casing 12 comprises a plastic or polymeric molded casing that mayattach to the pivot socket 24 via any suitable manner. The casing maycomprise any suitable casing construction, and has a forward perimeteredge or attachment portion 12 a for attaching to the bezel portion 16,as discussed below. Optionally, the mirror casing may have at least onegenerally planar front attachment surface or panel or wall for attachingto the reflective element, such as by utilizing aspects of the mirrorassemblies described in PCT Application No. PCT/US2010/032017, filedApr. 22, 2010, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety. Optionally, the mirror casing may include cap portions thatmay include one or more accessories, such as by utilizing aspects of themirror assemblies described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,289,037, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Bezel portion 16 comprises a plastic or polymeric molded bezel portionthat has a rearward perimeter attachment portion 16 a (that opposes themirror casing when the bezel portion is attached to the mirror casingand that faces generally forwardly in the forward direction of travel ofthe vehicle when the mirror assembly is normally mounted in the vehicle)that attaches to the forward or front edge region 12 a of the mirrorcasing 12 via any suitable manner, such as via a snap connection orwelding or screwing or heat staking or adhering or the like. As can beseen in FIGS. 4 and 5, bezel portion 16 includes a perimeter portion orelement 16 b that has an outer curved front surface 16 c that provides asmooth or curved transition surface (such as a convex-curved transitionsurface) between a side wall 16 d of the perimeter portion 16 b of bezelportion 16 (which is generally coplanar or generally flush with the sidewall 12 b of the mirror casing 12 when the bezel portion 16 is attachedto the mirror casing) and the front surface 20 a of the reflectiveelement 14. Thus, the bezel portion 16 does not encompass the frontsurface 20 a of the reflective element such that the entire frontsurface 20 a of the reflective element 14 is exposed and viewable by thedriver of a vehicle when the mirror assembly is normally mounted in thevehicle.

In the illustrated embodiment, the radius of curvature of the curvedsurface 16 c of bezel portion 16 is about 2.5 mm, but may be greaterthan or less than this dimension depending on the particular applicationof the reflective element and mirror casing of the mirror assembly (suchas, for example, a radius of curvature of about 3 mm or thereabouts).Typically, it is desired to have at least a 2.5 mm radius of curvatureat the perimeter edges of a mirror assembly (typically at a bezel of aconventional mirror assembly) to meet the minimum safety standards forhead impact with the mirror, such as during a sudden stop or collisionof the equipped vehicle. Homologation radius approval may be achievedusing a continuation of the glass plane into the bezel radius.

As shown in FIG. 4, the bezel portion 16 may be formed with a generallyplanar attachment panel or surface 16 e that is disposed rearward of theperimeter bezel portion 16 b. For example, the attachment panel 16 e mayextend at least substantially across the length and width dimensions ofthe perimeter portion 16 b of bezel portion 16 to provide an attachmentpanel for attachment of the reflective element 14 to the bezel portion16. The reflective element may be received into the bezel portion (suchas in a partial pocket formed by the perimeter portion and theattachment panel) and attached or adhered (such as via a two-sided tape29 or the like) or snapped to the attachment panel, whereby the frontsurface of the reflective element is generally coplanar or flush withthe front surface of the perimeter bezel portion. Optionally, the bezelportion may comprise an injected molded plastic or polymeric bezelportion, with the attachment panel 16 e integrally or unitarily moldedwith the perimeter portion 16 b of the bezel portion, or the attachmentpanel may be formed separately from and attached to the perimeterportion, or the bezel portion may comprise a stamped metallic bezelportion or may be an otherwise formed plastic or polymeric or metallicbezel portion, while remaining within the spirit and scope of thepresent invention.

The reflective element 14 thus may be readily received in the bezelportion and attached to the front surface of the attachment panel 16 eof bezel portion 16. Optionally, for example, the reflective element 14may be attached via an adhesive tape, such as a double-sided adhesivetape disposed between the rear surface 22 b of reflective element 14 andthe front surface of the attachment panel 16 e of bezel portion 16. Thereflective element 14 thus may be fixedly attached to the bezel portionand the bezel portion and reflective element sub-assembly may beattached to the mirror casing as a unit and may be pivoted with themirror casing 12 relative to the mounting assembly 18 to adjust therearward field of view to the driver of the vehicle. When the reflectiveelement 14 is attached to the attachment surface of the attachment panel16 e of bezel portion 16, the perimeter forward edges or regions of theperimeter portion 16 b of bezel portion 16 are generally flush orcoplanar with the front surface 20 a of reflective element 14, and whenthe bezel portion 16 is attached to the forward edge portions 12 a ofmirror casing 12, the side wall 16 d of bezel portion is generally flushor coplanar with the side wall 12 b of mirror casing 12. The rear glasssubstrate of the reflective element thus may be attached to theattachment panel using a back plate construction similar to attachmentof an exterior rearview mirror reflective element to an exteriorrearview mirror back plate (and utilizing aspects known in the exteriorrearview mirror art).

When the glass reflective element rear substrate is attached to theattachment panel of the bezel portion, the attachment panel functionslike an attachment plate or back plate of an exterior rearview mirrorassembly and provides impact resistance and enhanced image stability tothe reflective element. Optionally, it is envisioned that a ball stud orball member or pivot member may be attached to or formed with the bezelportion and attachment panel to further enhance the image stabilityprovided by the mirror reflective element when the mirror assembly isnormally mounted in the vehicle and when the vehicle is driven along aroad. In such an application, the reflective element may be directlyattached to the attachment panel and ball stud configuration and thusreduces vibration of the reflective element during vehicle operation.

Optionally, it is envisioned that the bezel portion and the mirrorcasing may be unitarily or integrally formed, such as via injectionmolding or the like. The mirror reflective element may then be receivedin the front opening or bezel portion of the unitary mirror casing andbezel and may be attached to an attachment panel of the mirror casingand bezel. Optionally, the mirror casing and bezel may be formedutilizing aspects of the mirror assemblies described in PCT ApplicationNo. PCT/US2010/032017, filed Apr. 22, 2010, which is hereby incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety, and may have at least one generallyplanar front attachment surface or panel or wall for attaching to thereflective element when the reflective element is received in or throughthe front opening or bezel portion of the mirror casing and bezelstructure.

Although shown and described as being adhesively attached to theattachment surface of the bezel portion, it is envisioned that thereflective element may be otherwise attached to the bezel portion, whileremaining within the spirit and scope of the present invention. Forexample, the reflective element may include or may be adhered to a backplate structure that includes attachment elements for connecting tocorresponding attachment elements of the bezel portion or mirror casing.For example, the back plate may include flexible tabs extendingtherefrom that flex to engage and snap to corresponding slots and tabsat the bezel portion and/or mirror casing to secure the reflectiveelement to the bezel portion and/or mirror casing. The reflectiveelement thus may be attached to the bezel portion and/or mirror casingvia other suitable attachment means while the bezel portion does notencompass or overlap the perimeter edge region of the front surface ofthe reflective element.

Electrical connection to the reflective element (such as to thetransparent electrically conductive coating at the second surface of thefront substrate and to the electrically conductive coating at the thirdsurface of the rear substrate) may be made via connectors or contactsestablished between circuitry of the mirror assembly and the respectiveelectrically conductive coatings. Because the bezel portion does notoverlap or encompass the front surface of the reflective element, thebezel portion substantially abuts the perimeter edge dimension of thefront substrate of the reflective element to provide a finishedappearance to the mirror assembly, and thus an electrode clip may not besuitable for electrically connecting to the transparent conductivecoating at the second surface of the front substrate or for electricallyconnecting to the conductive coating or coatings at the third surface ofthe rear substrate. Thus, it is envisioned that electrical connection tothe transparent electrically conductive coating at the second surface ofthe front substrate may be made via an electrical contact or connectorcontacting the rear surface of the front substrate at a portion wherethe rear substrate is removed or offset, and such contact may beenhanced or established via a conductive epoxy or the like, and mayutilize aspects of the mirror assemblies described in U.S. Pat. Nos.7,626,749; 7,274,501; 7,255,451; 7,195,381; 7,184,190 and/or 6,690,268,and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005and published Mar. 23, 2006 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No. US-2006-0061008;and/or Ser. No. 10/538,724, filed Jun. 13, 2005 and published Mar. 9,2006 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No. US-2006-0050018, and/or PCT Application No.PCT/US2010/029173, filed Mar. 30, 2010, which are all herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties. The electricalconnection to the conductive coating or coatings at the third surface ofthe rear substrate may be made via any suitable means, such as anelectrical contact and/or conductive epoxy and/or a wraparound coatingand/or the like, such as by utilizing aspects of the above referencedpatents and patent applications.

Optionally, mirror assembly 10 may include at least one user actuatableinput 30 for controlling at least one accessory of the mirror assemblyand/or vehicle. In the illustrated embodiment (and as shown in FIG. 5),the mirror assembly 10 includes a circuit element 32, such as a printedcircuit board or substrate or the like, disposed at a rear surface ofthe attachment panel 16 e of bezel portion 16. As can be seen withreference to FIG. 5, the user actuatable input 30 may comprise acapacitive switch or sensor disposed or established at a perimeterregion of the reflective element. In such an application, a perimeterportion of the rear substrate 22 may be cutaway or removed so that thefront substrate is exposed or accessible from the rear of the reflectiveelement at an overhang or cutaway or switch region 34 or the frontsubstrate 20 may have a cross dimension (such as a height dimension)that is greater than a corresponding cross dimension of the rearsubstrate so as to establish the overhang or cutaway or switch region34, such as at a lower, central region of the reflective element asshown in FIGS. 1 and 5 (although clearly the overhang or cutaway regionmay be provided at any other location at the reflective element whileremaining within the spirit and scope of the present invention). Theperimeter seal may be disposed around the shape of the switch area andthe opaque perimeter band may be established to cover or conceal or hidethe seal around the switch area.

The transparent electrically conductive coating (preferably indium tinoxide (ITO) or the like) at the rear or second surface 20 b of the frontsubstrate 20 may have a portion at the overhang region 34 that iselectrically isolated (such as via laser etching at the boundary of theoverhang region or around one or more switch or sensor locations at theoverhang region) from the rest of the coating at the principal viewingarea of the reflective element. Thus, the transparent electricallyconductively coated rear surface 20 b of the front substrate 20 at theoverhang region 34 may function as part of a capacitive sensor. Forexample, an electrical lead 36 may be electrically connected between thecircuit element 32 and the transparent electrically conductive coatingat the rear surface 20 b of front substrate 20. Thus, the circuitry maydetect the presence or touch of a person's finger at the front surface20 a of the front substrate 20 at the switch region 34 and mayactivate/deactivate/control one or more accessories of the mirrorassembly and/or vehicle responsive to such a detection. Thus, thetransparent electrically conductive coating (such as ITO or the like)established at and across the rear of the front mirror glass substratemay be used to create half of a capacitive switch with the operator'sfinger completing the other half of the switch or capacitor. The switchor sensor area is electrically isolated from the rest of the transparentelectrically conductive coating at the rear of the front mirror glasssubstrate, such as by using a laser etch boundary or isolation line ordelineation line or the like. The capacitive touch sensor may functionlike any known touch sensor or capacitive sensor or may utilize aspectsof the capacitive sensors and sensing systems discussed below.

Optionally, and as shown in FIG. 1, the switch area may have an icon 36established thereat (such as via laser etching through or at leastpartially through the opaque coating or band at the switch area) so thata user may readily view and recognize the function of the switch.Optionally, and desirably, the switch icon may be illuminated orbacklit, such as by using an illumination source 38 (such as a lightemitting diode or the like) at the circuit element 32. The color of theicon may change responsive to actuation of the switch or sensor. Forexample, for an electrochromic (EC) function control (which allows thedriver to manually activate or deactivate the automatic dimming functionof the electrochromic mirror), the color of the icon may change (such asfrom red (off) to blue (on) or the like) when the EC function is toggledusing the capacitive switch. Optionally, the switch icon may be onecolor (such as, for example, blue) at all times and a separateillumination source or light emitting diode (LED) or the like may beturned on and off at another location, and may be viewable by the driverof the vehicle looking through the mirror reflective element (andthrough the partially transmitting, partially reflecting transflectivemirror reflector established at the third surface or front surface ofthe rear substrate). The indicator icon could be any shape or logo whileremaining within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Optionally, and desirably, the mirror assembly includes one or morephoto-sensors, such as an ambient light sensor and a glare light sensorand/or the like. The rearward facing photo-sensor, such as a glaresensor, is disposed behind the reflective element and receives lightthrough the mirror reflective element and transflective mirrorreflector. Thus, the sensor senses light through the glass mirrorsubstrates and transflective metallic mirror reflector and is notdisposed at the bezel or chin area of the mirror assembly.

Optionally, the mirror assembly may include other accessories, such as,for example, a compass module with a display-on-demand (DoD) displaythat is viewable by the driver of the vehicle looking through the mirrorreflective element and through the partially transmitting, partiallyreflecting transflective mirror reflector established at the thirdsurface or front surface of the rear substrate. The calibration buttonfunctions could be programmed using the touch switch and an on-boardmicroprocessor or the like or by an added flex button or input at therear of the mirror housing, or a hole for a reset pin to be guidedthrough or the like.

Therefore, the present invention provides a frameless mirror assemblythat has a reflective element adhered or attached to a front or mountingsurface of a bezel portion or mirror casing, with no mirror casing orbezel portion encompassing the perimeter edge region of the frontsurface of the mirror reflective element. For mirror applications withone or more mirror-based accessories, the accessory or accessories maybe received in or disposed at or in the mirror casing and/or may bedisposed at the mounting structure of the mirror assembly. The flushfront surface of the reflective element and bezel portion provides aframeless and more modern appearance to the mirror assembly. Also, theopaque perimeter border band and bezel portion may contrast or match tofurther enhance the appearance, depending on the application and desiredappearance of the mirror assembly. For example, the opaque border bandmay comprise a metallic appearance or may be light absorbing and thusmay have a dark color, while the bezel portion may be a dark or blackcolored plastic or may be chrome plated or otherwise colored to providethe desired or selected appearance of the mirror assembly.

Optionally, an interior rearview mirror assembly of the presentinvention may have a mirror casing (which may have a bezel portion) thatencompasses a perimeter edge dimension of the rear substrate of anelectro-optic mirror reflective element, and that abuts at or is inclose proximity to the rear surface of the front substrate, such as byutilizing aspects of the mirror assemblies described in U.S. Pat. No.7,255,451 and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US2010/032017, filed Apr. 22,2010, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties. The front substrate has a curved outer or front perimeteredge to provide a smooth continuous convex-curved transition between thegenerally planar front surface of the front substrate and the generallyplanar exterior surface of the mirror casing. Thus, the interiorrearview mirror assembly provides a frameless interior rearview mirrorassembly, with no mirror casing or bezel portion encompassing andencroaching onto the front surface of the front substrate of the mirrorreflective element.

For example, and with reference to FIG. 6, an interior rearview mirrorassembly 110 includes a mirror casing or housing or shroud or cap orholder 112, a reflective element 114 positioned at a front portion ofthe mirror casing 112 with a front casing portion 112 a disposed arounda periphery of the rear substrate 122 of the reflective element 114.Mirror assembly 110 is adjustably mounted to an interior portion of avehicle (such as to an interior surface of a vehicle windshield or aheadliner of a vehicle or the like) via a mounting structure or mountingconfiguration or assembly 118, such as described above. The front casingportion 112 a (which may be part of or joined with a mirror attachmentplate or backing plate or the like that is disposed at and attached at arear surface or portion of the mirror reflective element) receives therear substrate 122 of the reflective element therein and encompasses theperimeter edge 122 c of the rear substrate 122 of the reflective element114 (i.e., the circumferential edge surface adjoining, connecting andbetween the third or front surface of the rear substrate and the fourthor rear surface of the rear substrate). As can be seen in FIG. 6, thefront casing portion 112 abuts or is in close proximity to the rearsurface 120 b of the front substrate 120 and does not overlap orencompass the perimeter edges of the front substrate 120 and does notoverlap or encompass the perimeter regions of the front surface of thereflective element 114, and the front substrate 120 includes a curved orrounded surface or beveled or contoured outboard or front perimeter orcurvature 120 c at the front perimeter edge and side edge dimension toprovide a smooth continuous transition between the generally planarprincipal front surface 120 a of the front substrate 120 and thegenerally planar or beveled or contoured or curved exterior surface 112b of the front casing portion 112 a of mirror casing 112, as discussedbelow.

Reflective element 114 may comprise an electro-optic (such aselectrochromic) reflective element or may comprise a prismatic orwedge-shaped reflective element. Reflective element 114 includes a frontsubstrate 120 having a front or first surface 120 a (the surface thatgenerally faces the driver of a vehicle when the mirror assembly isnormally mounted in the vehicle) and a rear or second surface 120 bopposite the front surface 120 a, and a rear substrate 122 having afront or third surface 122 a and a rear or fourth surface 122 b oppositethe front surface 122 a, with an electro-optic medium 124 disposedbetween the second surface 120 b and the third surface 122 a and boundedby a perimeter seal 126 of the reflective element (such as is known inthe electrochromic mirror art). The second surface 120 a has atransparent conductive coating established thereat, while the thirdsurface 122 a has a conductive coating (such as a metallic reflectorcoating for a third surface reflector mirror element or such as atransparent conductive coating for a fourth surface reflector mirrorelement) established thereat.

Reflective element 114 includes an opaque or substantially opaque orhiding perimeter layer or coating or band 123 (FIG. 1) disposed around aperimeter edge region of the front substrate 120 (such as at a perimeterregion of the rear or second surface 120 b of the front substrate) toconceal or hide or the perimeter seal from viewing by the driver of thevehicle when the mirror assembly is normally mounted in the vehicle.Such a hiding layer or perimeter band may be reflective (such asspecularly reflective) or not reflective and may utilize aspects of theperimeter bands and mirror assemblies described in U.S. Pat. Nos.7,626,749; 7,274,501; 7,184,190; 7,255,451 and/or 5,066,112, and/or U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005 andpublished Mar. 23, 2006 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No. US-2006-0061008, which arehereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. Optionally,the perimeter band may comprise a chrome/chromium coating or metalliccoating and/or may comprise a chrome/chromium or metallic coating thathas a reduced reflectance, such as by using an oxidized chrome coatingor chromium oxide coating or “black chrome” coating or the like (such asby utilizing aspects of the mirror assemblies described in U.S. Pat.Nos. 7,184,190 and/or 7,255,451, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties). Optionally, other opaque orsubstantially opaque coatings or bands may be implemented whileremaining within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Optionally, the circumferential perimeter border layer or band may beestablished via any suitable means, such as screen printing or vacuumdeposition or the like (preferably by sputter deposition and utilizationof a mask as is known in the sputter deposition art). Optionally, theperimeter or border band (either specularly reflecting or non-reflectingor the like) may be established at the front surface of the frontsubstrate (such as over the curved perimeter edge and a perimeter regionof the front surface of the front substrate). Optionally, the frontsubstrate may be frosted or diffused at the perimeter region so that theperimeter seal and mirror casing are concealed or rendered covert to aperson viewing the mirror assembly and reflective element when themirror assembly is normally mounted in a vehicle.

The reflective element 114 and mirror casing 112 are adjustable relativeto the mounting arm or pivot assembly 118 to adjust the driver'srearward field of view when the mirror assembly is normally mounted ator in the vehicle. In the illustrated embodiment, mounting assembly 118comprises a double-ball or double-pivot mounting assembly whereby thereflective element and casing are adjustable relative to the vehiclewindshield (or other interior portion of the vehicle) about a pair ofpivot joints. Mounting assembly 118 includes a base portion or mountingbase 128 and a mounting arm 130, with the mounting arm 130 pivotallymounted at the mounting base 128 at a base or first ball pivot joint andthe reflective element 114 and mirror casing 112 pivotally mounted atmounting arm 130 about a mirror or second ball pivot joint. Optionally,the mounting assembly may comprise other types of mountingconfigurations, such as a single-ball or single-pivot mountingconfiguration or the like, while remaining within the spirit and scopeof the present invention.

Mirror casing 112 comprises a plastic or polymeric molded casing thatmay attach to the mounting assembly 118 via any suitable manner. Thecasing may comprise any suitable casing construction, and has a forwardperimeter edge or receiving portion 112 a for receiving the rearsubstrate 122 of the mirror reflective element 114 therein, as discussedbelow. Optionally, the mirror casing may have at least one generallyplanar front attachment surface or panel or wall for attaching to thereflective element, such as by utilizing aspects of the mirrorassemblies described in PCT Application No. PCT/US2010/032017, filedApr. 22, 2010, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety. Optionally, the mirror casing may include cap portions thatmay include one or more accessories, such as by utilizing aspects of themirror assemblies described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,289,037, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

As can be seen in FIG. 6, front substrate 120 includes a perimeterportion or element that has an outer curved front bevel or edge or glasssurface 120 c (that may be ground or otherwise formed or established)that is formed around the perimeter of a generally planar main orprincipal front surface 120 a and that provides a smooth or curvedtransition surface between the generally planar main or principal frontsurface 120 a of the reflective element 114 and the exterior surface 112b of the front casing portion 112 a of mirror casing 112 (which isgenerally coplanar or generally flush with the rear perimeter edgedimension 120 d of front substrate 120 when the mirror reflectiveelement 114 is received in front casing portion 112 a of mirror casing112). The beveled portion or beveled outboard or front perimeter 120 cof front substrate 120 has a bevel radius of curvature of at least about2.5 mm, such as 2.5 mm or 3.0 mm or thereabouts, and may be formed viaany suitable beveling operation, such as a beveling operation involvingthe likes of diamond wheel grinding of the outboard or front perimeterof the glass substrate followed by a successive finer grind polish toreestablish a water clear glass like transparent bevel that, to thedriver's eye, is substantially indistinguishable from the planarprincipal glass surface of the front substrate being viewed by thedriver. The front casing portion 112 a abuts or is in close proximity tothe rear surface 120 b of front substrate 120 to encompass the rearsubstrate 122 and the perimeter seal 126, and the perimeter band 123hides or conceals the perimeter seal 126 from view by a person viewingthe reflective element when the mirror assembly is normally mounted in avehicle.

In the illustrated embodiment, the radius of curvature of the beveledoutboard or front perimeter 120 c of front substrate 120 is about 2.5mm, but may be greater than or less than this dimension depending on theparticular application of the reflective element and mirror casing ofthe mirror assembly. Typically, it is desired to have at least a 2.5 mmradius of curvature at the perimeter edges of a mirror assembly(typically at a bezel of a conventional mirror assembly) to meet theminimum safety standards for head impact with the mirror, such as duringa sudden stop or collision of the equipped vehicle.

Thus, the bevel or contour or curvature or form of the curved edges orbeveled outboard or front perimeter 120 c of the front substrate 120 andthe bevel or contour or curvature or form of surface 112 b of the mirrorcasing 112 may generally align or match to provide a generallycontinuous surface or contour or curvature at the junction of the frontsubstrate and the mirror casing. Any interface between the frontsubstrate and the mirror casing may be reduced or minimized, such as bya close fit arrangement of the front substrate and mirror casing and/orby the glass front substrate slightly nesting into a the mirror casing(such as via a slight lip at the mirror casing that may overlap a slightportion of the side perimeter edge of mirror front substrate), or suchas by affirmatively filling any gap between the front substrate andmirror casing with a gap closing or gap filling material or means.

Therefore, the mirror casing 112 receives or accommodates the rearsubstrate 122 of the reflective element therein and does not encompassor encroach onto the circumferential perimeter edges of the frontsubstrate (i.e., the edge surface adjoining, connecting and between thefirst or front surface of the front substrate and the second or rearsurface of the front substrate) or the front surface 120 a of thereflective element such that the entire front surface 120 a of thereflective element 114 is exposed and viewable by the driver of avehicle when the mirror assembly is normally mounted in the vehicle. Theconvex-curved transition surface or beveled perimeter 120 c of the frontsubstrate 120 provides a smooth continuous curved transition between thegenerally planar front surface 120 a of the front substrate 120 and thegenerally planar or curved or contoured or beveled exterior surface 112b of the mirror casing 112.

For vehicular interior rearview mirror assemblies, ECE Regulation No.46, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety,requires that an automotive or vehicular interior rearview mirrorassembly have the edge of the reflecting surface enclosed in aprotective housing (or holder, etc.) which, on its perimeter, must havea radius of curvature greater than or equal to 2.5 mm at all points andin all directions. If the reflecting surface projects beyond theprotective housing, the radius of curvature on the edge of theprojecting part must be not less than 2.5 mm and the reflecting surfacemust return into the protective housing under a force of 50 N applied tothe point of greatest projection, relative to the protective housing, ina horizontal direction, approximately parallel to the longitudinalmedian plane of the vehicle.

The present invention satisfies such requirements by having thereflecting surface (such as the third surface or fourth surfacereflecting surface of an electrochromic reflective element) received inthe mirror housing or protective housing so that an outboard portion ofthe mirror housing or projecting portion or lip or protrusion orstructure of or at the mirror housing or protective housing encloses thereflecting surface therein (see, for example, FIG. 8E, which illustratesan electro-optic mirror assembly, or FIG. 9B, which illustrates aprismatic mirror assembly), with the beveled front or outer or outboardedge or perimeter of the front substrate (that may be first impacted byan occupant of the vehicle during a vehicle collision) of the mirrorhaving on its perimeter a radius of curvature greater than or equal to2.5 mm (such as 3 mm or thereabouts) at all points and in all directions(such as shown, for example, in FIGS. 8E, 9B and 10A-E). Such a novelapproach for an interior rearview mirror assembly provides an enhancedaesthetically pleasing appearance and may provide increasedreflective/viewing area at the mirror assembly, since the mirrorassembly does not include a conventional bezel portion or the like thatoverlaps and encroaches onto the perimeter region of the front surfaceof the front substrate of the reflective element. The mirror assembly ofthe present invention may also provide for a smaller mirror assembly andthus increased forward vision of the driver of the vehicle around themirror (such as an increase of, for example, about 15-25 percent aroundthe interior mirror assembly) while providing a given rearward field ofview to the driver of the vehicle (and thus may provide a mass reduction(such as of, for example, about 10-12 percent) as compared toconventional mirror assemblies). Also, the polished glass edge orbeveled outboard or front perimeter of the mirror reflective element ofthe present invention may provide a stronger reflective elementsubstrate (such as about 65 percent stronger) as compared to aconventional cut edge glass substrate due to the removal or reduction ofedge stress points and/or micro-fractures. The present invention mayprovide these enhancements in appearance and durability and size/weight,all while satisfying the requirements of the ECE Regulation No. 46.

In a conventional electrochromic mirror reflective element assembly, anelectrochromic medium is disposed or sandwiched between a frontsubstrate and rear substrate with a mirror reflector coating or layerestablished at or disposed at the front or rear surface of the rearsubstrate. The front substrate, around its perimeter, has an outboardleading edge and an inboard edge, where the outboard edge is the onethat is generally towards the driver of the vehicle when the mirrorassembly is normally mounted in the vehicle. In conventional interiorrearview mirror assemblies, the outboard leading edge of the frontsubstrate is typically encased or encompassed by a bezel portion of amirror casing or housing or shroud or holder. For the mirror assembly ofthe present invention, because in particular the leading outboard edgeof the reflective element may be directly contactable by a driver oroccupant, the leading outboard edge of the reflective element is beveledso as to have a radius of curvature of at least about 2.5 mm, and, asindicated above, is typically diamond ground/polished so as to have awater clear glass like transparent appearance to the driver of thevehicle. Furthermore, the inboard edge of the reflective element mayalso be ground or formed, such as shown, for example, in FIG. 8E, so asto accommodate a portion of the mirror casing or housing or shroud orholder or frame that encloses the edge of the reflecting surface (thatin the case of a laminate electrochromic mirror is typically the leadingoutboard edge of the rear substrate, commonly referred to as theperimeter edge of the third surface of the laminate electrochromicmirror reflective element assembly). The reflecting surface of thereflective element thus is received or disposed in or enclosed by themirror housing or casing or holder or the like (and disposed rearward orinward of the outer end or protrusion or lip of the mirror casing orhousing or shroud or holder or cap), with the outboard leading edge ofthe reflective element beveled to the desired or appropriate radius ofcurvature.

Optionally, and with reference to FIGS. 7, 7A and 7B, an interiorelectrochromic rearview mirror assembly 210 may have a mirror casing 212that receives the rear substrate 222 of a reflective element 214 thereinand does not encompass the perimeter edges of the front substrate 220 orthe front surface 220 a of the reflective element, such that the entirefront surface 220 a of the reflective element 214 is exposed andviewable by the driver of a vehicle when the mirror assembly is normallymounted in the vehicle, such as in a similar manner as discussed above.The front surface 220 a of front substrate 220 includes a perimeterportion or element that has a beveled outboard or front perimeter orouter curved front edge or surface or bevel 220 c (that may be ground orotherwise formed or established) that provides a smooth or convex-curvedtransition surface between the front surface 220 a of the reflectiveelement 214 and the exterior surface 212 b of the front casing portion212 a of mirror casing 212 (which is generally coplanar or generallyflush with the rear perimeter edge dimension 220 d of front substrate220 when the mirror reflective element 214 is received in front casingportion 212 a of mirror casing 212). The reflective element 214 includesa mirror reflector 221 (such as any suitable coatings or layers, such asa transflective coating or layer, such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos.7,626,749; 7,274,501; 7,255,451; 7,195,381; 7,184,190; 6,690,268;5,140,455; 5,151,816; 6,178,034; 6,154,306; 6,002,544; 5,567,360;5,525,264; 5,610,756; 5,406,414; 5,253,109; 5,076,673; 5,073,012;5,117,346; 5,724,187; 5,668,663; 5,910,854; 5,142,407 and/or 4,712,879,which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties)disposed at the front surface 222 a of rear substrate 222 (commonlyreferred to as the third surface of the reflective element) and opposingthe electro-optic medium, such as an electrochromic medium disposedbetween the front and rear substrates and bounded by a perimeter seal,but the mirror reflector could be disposed at the rear surface 222 b ofrear substrate 222 (commonly referred to as the fourth surface of thereflective element), while remaining within the spirit and scope of thepresent invention.

In the illustrated embodiment, the mirror assembly 210 includes abacking plate or attachment plate 240, which may be adhered or otherwiseattached at the rear surface of the rear substrate 222, such as at ananti-scatter tape 242 or the like adhered to the rear surface of therear substrate in a known manner. As best shown in FIG. 7B, attachmentplate 240 includes a generally planar attachment portion 240 a that isattached at tape 242 and a perimeter flange or tab 240 b that extendsrearwardly from attachment portion 240 a and is generally parallel tothe inner surface 212 c of the front portion 212 a of mirror casing 212when the rear substrate 220 and attachment plate 240 are received inmirror casing 212 (optionally, the attachment plate may be formed orestablished as part of the mirror casing or housing, or the mirrorcasing or housing or cap portion may be attached to the attachment platevia any suitable means, such as by utilizing aspects of the mirrorassemblies described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,289,037, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety). In the illustratedembodiment, the flange 240 b of attachment plate 240 may be adhered orotherwise attached to or at the inner surface 212 c of front portion 212a of mirror casing 212 to retain the attachment plate 240 and reflectiveelement 214 relative to the mirror casing 212. Optionally, the housingmay be attached to the attachment plate flange via any other suitablemeans, such as via sonic welding, solvents, laser welding and/or thelike.

When so retained, a forward or outer edge or lip 212 d of mirror casing212 may be at or near or in contact with the rear surface 220 b of frontsubstrate 220 at the perimeter region of the front substrate.Optionally, an opaque or darkened layer or concealing or hidingperimeter layer 223 (such as a reflective layer or chrome layer ornon-reflective layer or the like) may be disposed at the perimeterregion of the rear surface of the front substrate to conceal or rendercovert the mirror casing 212 and the perimeter seal of the reflectiveelement 214). The adhesive may comprise any suitable adhesive, and mayprovide a quick set or partial cure that holds the mirror casing to theattachment plate during the curing of the adhesive (or optionally,fixturing or a second rapid set, rapid cure adhesive may be disposed atthe interface between the mirror casing and the attachment plate) tohold the attachment plate and mirror casing together until the adhesiveis fully cured. Thus, the front casing portion 212 a abuts or is inclose proximity to the rear surface 220 b of front substrate 220 (suchas with a gap of less than about 1 mm or less than about 0.5 mm or lessthan about 0.25 mm), and the mirror casing 212 receives and/orencompasses the rear substrate 222 and the perimeter seal 226. As can beseen in FIG. 7B, the reflecting surface 221 is received in the mirrorhousing, with the edge of the front substrate of the mirror having onits perimeter a radius of curvature greater than or equal to 2.5 mm(such as 3 mm or thereabouts) at all points and in all directions, andthus the mirror assembly satisfies the requirements of ECE RegulationNo. 46, incorporated by reference above, and the perimeter band hides orconceals the edge or lip 212 d of mirror casing 212 and the perimeterseal from view by a person viewing the reflective element when themirror assembly is normally mounted in a vehicle.

Optionally, and as shown in FIG. 8A, the attachment plate 340 of amirror assembly 310 may have a notch or opening or aperture 340 cestablished at or through flange 340 b and the mirror casing 312 mayhave a tab or retaining element 312 e protruding inboard therefrom.Thus, when the attachment plate 340 (and the rear substrate 322 andelectrochromic medium 324 of the reflective element 314) is received inmirror casing 312 a sufficient amount, the retaining element 312 e isreceived in aperture 340 c to snap or lock or retain the attachmentplate 340 and reflective element 314 relative to mirror casing 312 (withthe outer edge 312 d of mirror casing 312 being at or near or in contactwith or spaced from the rear surface 320 b of front substrate 320 ofmirror reflective element 314, such as in a similar manner as describedabove). In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 8A, the reflective element314 includes a fourth surface mirror reflector 321 disposed at the rearsurface 322 b of rear substrate 322 (such as an environmentally stablecoating or layer such as a coating or layer of silicon aluminum or othersuitable coatings or layers, such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos.7,626,749; 7,274,501; 7,255,451; 7,195,381; 7,184,190; 6,690,268;5,140,455; 5,151,816; 6,178,034; 6,154,306; 6,002,544; 5,567,360;5,525,264; 5,610,756; 5,406,414; 5,253,109; 5,076,673; 5,073,012;5,117,346; 5,724,187; 5,668,663; 5,910,854; 5,142,407 and/or 4,712,879,which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties),but the mirror reflector could be disposed at the front surface 322 a ofrear substrate 322, while remaining within the spirit and scope of thepresent invention. The mirror assembly 310 may be otherwise similar inconstruction to mirror assembly 210, discussed above, such that adetailed discussion of the mirror assemblies need not be repeatedherein.

Optionally, the outer end or edge of the mirror casing may be formed orconstructed to attach to or abut against or conform with the rearsurface of the front substrate of the reflective element. For example,and as shown in FIG. 8B, the mirror casing 312′ may have an overmoldedend or front end or region 312 d′, with an elastomeric or resilient orspongy or soft rim portion 312 f′ (such as an overmolded santoprenematerial or the like) molded over end region 312 d′ to provide a cushionand/or seal between the end region 312 d′ and the rear surface 320 b offront substrate 320 of reflective element 314. The resilient or softportion 312 f′ may comprise any suitable softer or lower durometerhardness material as compared to the harder plastic mirror casing 312′.The overmolded portion 312 f′ of the front casing portion 312 d′ thusabuts or contacts (and may compress against) the rear surface 320 b offront substrate 320 to seal against the rear surface 320 b and provide asealed gap-less transition between the mirror casing and the curved edgeor surface or beveled outboard or front perimeter 320 c of frontsubstrate 320 of reflective element 314. The overmolded resilientportion may provide a resilient seal between the reflective element andthe mirror casing or housing and may function to absorb or reduce shockor vibration at the reflective element. The mirror assembly 310′ may beotherwise similar in construction to mirror assemblies 210, 310discussed above, such that a detailed discussion of the mirrorassemblies need not be repeated herein.

Optionally, and with reference to FIG. 8C, a mirror assembly 310″ mayinclude a mirror casing 312″ that has an adhesive layer 313 disposed ordispensed at its outer edge or end region 312 d″ to adhere to the secondor rear surface 320 b of front substrate 320 of reflective element 314when the attachment plate 340 is attached or snapped to the mirrorcasing 312″. The adhesive may comprise any suitable adhesive, and mayprovide a quick set or partial cure that holds the mirror casing to theglass surface of the front substrate during the curing of the adhesive(or optionally, fixturing or a second rapid set, rapid cure adhesive maybe disposed at the interface between the mirror casing and the glass) tohold the substrate and mirror casing together until the adhesive 313 isfully cured. Optionally, and with reference to FIG. 8D, a mirrorassembly 410 may include a mirror casing 412 that has a notch or chamfer412 f formed at its outer end region 412 d and the notch may be filledwith a gap filler material 413 (such as a soft elastomeric material oran adhesive or the like) disposed between the notched end region of themirror casing and the rear surface 420 b of the front substrate 420 ofthe mirror reflective element 414. The front casing portions thus mayabut or contact the rear surface of the front substrate with theadhesive or gap filler material disposed thereat and/or therebetween toseal the mirror casing at and against the rear surface of the frontsubstrate and to provide a sealed gap-less transition between the outersurface of the mirror casing 412 and the beveled outboard or frontperimeter or curved edge or surface 420 c of the front substrate 420 ofthe reflective element 414. The mirror assemblies 310″ and 410 may beotherwise similar in construction to mirror assemblies 210, 310, 310′discussed above, such that a detailed discussion of the mirrorassemblies need not be repeated herein.

Optionally, and with reference to FIG. 8E, a mirror assembly 410′ mayinclude a mirror reflective element 414′ adhered to or attached to amirror casing 412′, such as via an adhesive tape 442′ disposed betweenthe mirror reflective element and an attachment portion or surface 440of the mirror assembly (such as an attachment portion that is formed aspart of the mirror casing or that is attached to the mirror casing orthe like). In the illustrated embodiment, the mirror casing 412′ has aslanting edge configuration, such as a bevel or chamfer-likeconfiguration or protrusion configuration 412 f′ formed at its outer endor front portion or region 412 d′, and the mirror reflective element414′ may include a front substrate 420′ that has a formed or slantinginboard perimeter or slanting edge configuration or rear perimeteredge-portion 420 e′, such as a bevel or chamfer-like configuration ornotch or recess or curvature or the like, established at the perimeterregion of the rear surface 420 b′ of the mirror substrate. The slantedrear perimeter edge-portion 420 e′ of the substrate 420′ and the slantedouter portion 412 f′ at mirror casing 412′ correspond to one another orgenerally engage or mate with one another and allow the rear portion ofthe front substrate 420′ to engage and nest or partially nest in or atthe end region 412 d′ of mirror casing 412′ when the attachment plate440′ is attached to mirror casing 412′, such as in a similar manner asdescribed above, with the rear substrate 422′ and reflecting surface421′ disposed in or enclosed in the protective housing or mirror casing412′. The front surface 420 a′ of front substrate 420′ includes abeveled outboard or front perimeter or outer curved front edge orsurface or bevel 420 c′ (that may be ground or otherwise formed orestablished) that provides a smooth or convex-curved transition surfacebetween the front surface 420 a′ of the reflective element 414′ and theexterior surface 412 b′ of the end formation 412 f′ of the mirror casing412′ (which is generally coplanar or generally flush with the rearperimeter edge dimension 420 d′ of front substrate 420′ when the mirrorreflective element 414′ is partially received in the mirror casing 412′and when the formed inboard perimeter 420 e′ is received in or alignedwith or mated with the formed end region 412 d′ of mirror casing 412′).

As used herein, the term “slanted” or “slanting” for the slanted rearperimeter of the substrate and/or slanted outer element at the mirrorcasing is intended to encompass a straight slant or a curved slant (suchas a convex curvature or concave curvature or multi-radius curvature) orany other form established at the rear perimeter of the glass substrateor the outer element at the mirror housing or casing. Such a slantingrear perimeter at the glass substrate can be formed, for example, bygrinding (such as by using a glass-grinding diamond wheel or the like)the conventional straight edge of a substrate that conventionallyconnects or adjoins the second or rear surface of the substrate to thefirst or front surface of the substrate when a glass shape in the formof a typical interior rearview mirror is cut from a larger flat glasssheet that typically has a thickness in the range of about 1.1 mmthickness to about 2.3 mm thickness (typically having a thickness in therange of about 1.1 mm to about 1.6 mm or thereabouts) when the glasssubstrate is the front substrate of an electrochromic mirrorconstruction.

Thus, when the reflective element is attached at or disposed at themirror casing or housing or holder or shroud or cap or element, the edgeof the reflecting surface 421′ (at the front surface of the rearsubstrate of the reflective element) is enclosed in the protectivehousing 412′ (or holder, etc.) and has, on its perimeter (at the beveledoutboard leading perimeter edge or region 420 c′), a radius of curvaturegreater than or equal to 2.5 mm at all points and in all directions.This is shown in FIG. 8E where the lip or protrusion 412 f′ of theformed outboard end 412 d′ of protective housing 412′ extends orprotrudes outward beyond the reflecting surface 421′ so that the edge ofthe reflecting surface 421′ is enclosed by and recessed in the mirrorhousing or casing and the lip or protrusion protruding therefrom. Thereflecting surface is received within the mirror housing or protectivehousing and does not project beyond the end region 412 d′ of theprotective housing. Optionally, an adhesive or gap filler may bedisposed between the chamfered rear surface 420 b′ of front substrate420′ and the chamfered end region 412 d′ of mirror casing 412′, such asin a similar manner as described above. The bevel 420 c′ of frontsubstrate 420′ provides a smooth curved transition between the generallyplanar principal surface 420 a′ of front substrate 420′ and the outersurface 412 b′ of the mirror casing or housing 412′, and optionally, theouter surface of the protruding end region of the mirror casing may becurved to correspond to or be generally flush with or coplanar with thecurved surface of the bevel of the front substrate to provide a smoothtransition between the mirror casing surface and the generally planarprincipal surface of the front substrate of the mirror reflectiveelement. Optionally, the mirror assembly 410′ may include a concealinglayer or border layer or coating 423′ along the perimeter of the rearsurface 420 b′ of the front substrate 420′ (and the concealing layer maybe disposed over the perimeter region of the generally planar rearsurface and over the chamfered or formed rear or inboard perimeterregion of the mirror substrate) to conceal or render covert or hide theouter or forward edge or lip of the mirror casing and the perimeter sealfrom view by a person viewing the reflective element when the mirrorassembly is normally mounted in a vehicle. The mirror assembly 410′ maybe otherwise similar in construction to mirror assemblies 210, 310,310′, 310″, 410 discussed above, such that a detailed discussion of themirror assemblies need not be repeated herein.

Thus, the present invention provides a mirror casing that partiallyreceives an electrochromic reflective element therein (such as receivingthe rear substrate and electrochromic medium and reflecting surface andthe like in the mirror housing or casing), with a front substrate of thereflective element extending beyond the rear substrate along theperiphery of the reflective element and with a rear surface of the frontsubstrate at its periphery engaging or abutting or approaching the outerend region of the mirror casing. The front substrate includes a curvedor rounded perimeter edge about the periphery of the front surface tosatisfy regulation requirements and to provide a smooth transitionbetween the generally planar front surface of the front substrate andthe outer surface of the mirror casing. In the electrochromic mirrorassemblies discussed above, the reflecting surface is received in themirror housing, with the edge of the front substrate of the mirrorhaving on its perimeter a radius of curvature greater than or equal toabout 2.5 mm (such as about 3 mm or thereabouts) at all points and inall directions, and thus the mirror assemblies satisfy the requirementsof ECE Regulation No. 46, incorporated by reference above, and theperimeter band may hide or conceal the outer or forward edge or lip ofthe mirror casing and the perimeter seal from view by a person viewingthe reflective element when the mirror assembly is normally mounted in avehicle.

Optionally, an interior prismatic mirror assembly of the presentinvention may include a prismatic reflective element that has rounded orcurved perimeter edges to provide a smooth transition between thegenerally planar front surface of the prismatic reflective element andthe outer surface of the mirror casing (such as by utilizing aspects ofthe mirror assemblies described in PCT Application No.PCT/US2010/032017, filed Apr. 22, 2010, which is hereby incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety). For example, and with reference toFIGS. 9, 9A and 9B, an interior prismatic mirror assembly 510 includes amirror casing 512 and a prismatic reflective element 514 (having a prismor wedge-shaped glass substrate with a mirror reflector coating or layeror reflecting surface 521 disposed at its rear surface 514 b andoptionally with a perimeter layer or coating or band or concealing layerdisposed about the perimeter to conceal or render cover the presence ofthe mirror casing to a person viewing the front surface 514 a of theprismatic reflective element 514 of the mirror assembly). The perimeteredge of the prismatic reflective element 514 comprises a rounded orcurved perimeter edge 514 c to provide a smooth convex-curved transitionbetween the generally planar front surface 514 a of the reflectiveelement and the outer surface 512 b of the mirror casing 512, such as ina similar manner as described above and such as in a similar manner asdescribed in PCT Application No. PCT/US2010/032017, filed Apr. 22, 2010,which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In theillustrated embodiment, the mirror casing 512 is formed with anattachment plate 540 that is attached or adhered at the rear surface 514b of reflective element 514, such as at an anti-scatter tape 542 or thelike disposed at and/or adhered to the rear surface of the reflectiveelement, such as in a known manner. The mirror casing and attachmentplate may be unitarily or integrally formed or molded together, such asby utilizing aspects of the mirror assemblies described in PCTApplication No. PCT/US2010/032017, filed Apr. 22, 2010, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Optionally, and as shown in FIG. 9B, the outer end region of mirrorcasing 512 may include a protrusion or lip 512 d that protrudesoutwardly from the attachment surface of the attachment plate portion540 of mirror casing 512, and the rear surface 514 b of reflectiveelement 514 may have a chamfer or notch or rear perimeter edge-portion514 e around its rear perimeter to accommodate the protrusion 512 d whenthe reflective element 514 is attached or adhered to the mirror casing512. The protrusion at the outer end or edge region of the mirror casingmay be rounded to avoid having a sharp edge at the outer surface of theperimeter of the mirror casing, but optionally, other shapes may beestablished at the outer edge region of the mirror casing whileremaining within the spirit and scope of the present invention.Optionally, the protrusion at the outer end or edge region of the mirrorcasing or protective housing may be formed to engage with the chamferedrear perimeter edge-portion of the reflective element (such as shown anddescribed above with respect to FIG. 8E). The reflective element 514′may have a perimeter band or concealing layer about the perimeter regionof its rear surface 514 b′ so that the mirror casing 512′ and chamferedperimeter region 514 e′ are not discernible or viewable to a personviewing the front surface 514 a′ of reflective element 514′ when themirror assembly 510′ is normally mounted in a vehicle. As can be seen inFIG. 9B, the reflecting surface 521 is received in the mirror housing(and inboard of or enclosed by the protrusion at the forward end of themirror housing), with the edge of the prismatic mirror substrate of themirror having on its perimeter a radius of curvature greater than orequal to about 2.5 mm (such as about 3 mm or thereabouts) at all pointsand in all directions.

Thus, the present invention provides a mirror casing that partiallyreceives a prismatic reflective element therein (such as receiving arear portion of the prism or substrate and reflecting surface in themirror housing or casing), with a front portion of the reflectiveelement extending beyond reflecting surface along the periphery of thereflective element and with a rear surface of the prism or substrate atits periphery engaging or abutting or approaching the outer end regionof the mirror casing. The prism or substrate includes a curved orrounded perimeter edge or bevel about the periphery of the front surfaceto satisfy regulation requirements and to provide a smooth transitionbetween the generally planar front surface of the mirror substrate andthe outer surface of the mirror casing. In the prismatic mirror assemblydiscussed above, the reflecting surface is received in the mirrorhousing, with the edge of the prism or substrate of the mirror having onits perimeter a radius of curvature greater than or equal to about 2.5mm (such as about 3 mm or thereabouts) at all points and in alldirections, and thus the mirror assemblies satisfy the requirements ofECE Regulation No. 46, incorporated by reference above, and a perimeterband may hide or conceal the outer or forward edge or lip of the mirrorcasing from view by a person viewing the reflective element when themirror assembly is normally mounted in a vehicle.

Referring now to FIG. 10A, a mirror assembly 510′ includes a mirrorreflective element 514′ that has its reflecting surface 521′ at the rearsurface 514 b′ of the reflective element received in the mirror casing512′, with the mirror casing 512′ including a protrusion or lip 512 d′that protrudes beyond the reflecting surface or reflector 521′, such asin a similar manner as described above. Optionally, and as shown in FIG.10A, the outer perimeter edge 514 d′ (at the outboard perimeter regionof the curved perimeter region or bevel 514 c′) of the reflectiveelement 514′ may extend outwardly beyond or outboard of the protrusionor lip 512 d′ of mirror casing 512′, or may be generally flush with theprotrusion or lip of the mirror casing or protective housing, dependingon the particular application and desired appearance of the mirrorassembly. Optionally, and as also shown in FIG. 10A, the mirrorreflective element 514′ of mirror assembly 510′ may be adhered to themirror casing 512′ (or to an attachment plate or the like that may beattached to or part of the mirror casing or protective housing) via alayer of urethane adhesive 542′ or other suitable adhesive disposedbetween the rear surface 514 b′ of reflective element 514′ and theattachment surface 540′ of mirror casing 512′. The urethane adhesive maycomprise a thermosetting moisture cured hot melt urethane adhesive orother suitable adhesive (such as a UV cured adhesive or the like) andmay be disposed as a relatively thick layer between the rear surface 514a′ of reflective element 514′ and the attachment surface 540′ of mirrorcasing 512′ (or to a separate attachment plate of the mirror assembly orthe like). The urethane adhesive may be applied to the attachmentsurface of the mirror casing or to the rear surface of the reflectiveelement. The application of the urethane adhesive may obviate placementconstraints and requirements typically implemented for accurateapplication of a foam adhesive or the like, and may reduce the costsassociated with attaching the reflective element to the mirror casing orattachment plate.

For example, and with reference to FIG. 10B, a mirror assembly 610 mayinclude a mirror casing 612 with a chamfered or angled outer edge regionor element 612 d, with the angle of the chamfered edge region 612 d ofmirror casing 612 generally corresponding with a large angle or chamferor rear perimeter edge-portion 614 e of a chamfered or angled rearsurface 614 b of prismatic reflective element 614. Optionally, and withreference to FIG. 100, a mirror assembly 610′ may have a mirror casing612′ with a curved or rounded end or edge region 612 d′ and a prismaticreflective element 614′ with a curved or rounded notch or recess or rearperimeter edge-portion 614 e′ established at its rear surface 614 b′ andaround the perimeter region of the reflective element. The chamferedregion of the reflective element may be slightly spaced from or may abutagainst the chamfered edge region of the mirror casing or protectivehousing, and optionally the mirror assembly may include an adhesive orsealant or resilient element disposed between the chamfered region ofthe reflective element and the chamfered edge region of the mirrorcasing or protective housing. Optionally, the outboard perimeter edge614 d, 614 d′ at the rear of the curved bevel 614 c, 614 c′ of thereflective element 614, 614′ may be outboard of the outer surface of themirror casing 612, 612′ (such as shown in FIGS. 10B and 10C) or theoutboard perimeter edge at the rear of the curved bevel may be generallyflush with the outer surface of the mirror casing. The chamfered orrecessed region at the periphery of the rear surface of the reflectiveelement may have the reflector coating removed therefrom during theforming or grinding process, and thus, a person (such as the driver ofthe vehicle when normally operating the vehicle) may see a darkened ringaround the periphery of the reflective element due to the viewability ofthe end region of the mirror casing through the reflective element whenthe reflector coating is removed from the perimeter region of thereflective element. Optionally, a coating process may be performed afterthe chamfer or recess is formed at the rear of the reflective element toprovide a reflective coating or layer or a concealing coating or layeraround the perimeter of the rear surface of the reflective element,depending on the particular application and desired appearance of themirror assembly.

Optionally, the outer end or edge of the mirror casing may be formed orconstructed to attach to or abut against or conform with the rearsurface of the reflective element. For example, and as shown in FIG.10D, the mirror casing 712 of a prismatic mirror assembly 710 may havean overmolded end or front region 712 d, with an elastomeric orresilient rim portion 712 f (such as an overmolded santoprene materialor the like) molded over end region 712 d to provide a cushion and/orseal between the end region 712 d and the rear surface 714 b ofreflective element 714. The resilient or soft portion 712 f may compriseany suitable softer or lower durometer hardness material as compared tothe harder plastic mirror casing 712. The overmolded portion 712 f ofthe front casing portion 712 d thus abuts or contacts (and may compressagainst) the rear surface 714 b of reflective element 714 to sealagainst the rear surface 714 d and provide a sealed gap-less transitionbetween the mirror casing and the curved edge or surface 714 c ofreflective element 714. Optionally, and as shown in FIG. 10D, the rearsurface 714 d of reflective element 714 may have a chamfer or notch orrear perimeter edge-portion 714 e formed at its perimeter region and theovermolded portion 712 f may have a protrusion or portion 712 g thatconforms with the notched or chamfered portion or rear perimeteredge-portion 714 e of rear surface 714 b of reflective element 714 toengage the rear surface of the reflective element when the reflectiveelement is attached at the mirror casing. The chamfered region of thereflective element may be slightly spaced from or may abut against thechamfered resilient portion at the end region of the mirror casing orprotective housing, and optionally the mirror assembly may include anadhesive or sealant or resilient element disposed between the chamferedregion of the reflective element and the chamfered resilient portion atthe end region of the mirror casing or protective housing. Optionally,the outboard perimeter edge 714 d at the rear of the curved bevel 714 cof the reflective element 714 may be outboard of the outer surface ofthe resilient element 712 f and/or the mirror casing 712 (such as shownin FIG. 10D) or the outboard perimeter edge at the rear of the curvedbevel may be generally flush with the outer surface of the resilientelement and/or of the mirror casing.

Optionally, and as shown in FIG. 10E, the mirror casing 812 of a mirrorassembly 810 may extend outboard of the perimeter edge of the reflectiveelement 814, with a protrusion or lip 812 d extending partially aroundand along the perimeter edge 814 d of the reflective element 814 (withthe bevel 814 c of reflective element 814 being inboard of theprotrusion or lip 812 d), which may include a chamfer or notch or rearperimeter edge-portion 814 e formed at its perimeter region at its rearsurface 814 b. In such an embodiment, the prismatic reflective elementmay be cut smaller to fit within the perimeter lip 812 d of mirrorcasing 812, and the thickness of the prismatic reflective element may bereduced, since a full radius may not be required, thus achieving areduced weight for the mirror assembly. The chamfered region or rearperimeter edge-portion of the reflective element may be slightly spacedfrom or may abut against the protrusion at the end region of the mirrorcasing or protective housing, and optionally the mirror assembly mayinclude an adhesive or sealant or resilient element disposed between thechamfered region of the reflective element and the protrusion at the endregion of the mirror casing or protective housing. The mirror assemblies710′, 810 may be otherwise similar in construction to mirror assemblies510, 310′, 610, 710 discussed above, such that a detailed discussion ofthe mirror assemblies need not be repeated herein.

In the prismatic mirror embodiments discussed above, the reflectingsurface is received in the mirror housing, with the edge of theprismatic mirror substrate of the mirror having on its perimeter aradius of curvature greater than or equal to about 2.5 mm (such as about3 mm or thereabouts) at all points and in all directions. The presentinvention provides a mirror casing that partially receives a prismaticreflective element therein (such as receiving a rear portion of theprism or substrate and reflecting surface in the mirror housing orcasing), with a front portion of the reflective element extending beyondreflecting surface along the periphery of the reflective element andwith a rear surface of the prism or substrate at its periphery engagingor abutting or approaching the outer end region of the mirror casing.The prism or substrate includes a curved or rounded perimeter edge orbevel about the periphery of the front surface to satisfy regulationrequirements and to provide a smooth convex-curved transition betweenthe generally planar front surface of the mirror substrate and the outersurface of the mirror casing. In the prismatic mirror assembly discussedabove, the reflecting surface is received in the mirror housing (andrearward of the outer end of the mirror casing and/or a protrusionprotruding from the mirror casing), with the edge of the prism orsubstrate of the mirror having on its perimeter a radius of curvaturegreater than or equal to about 2.5 mm (such as about 3 mm orthereabouts) at all points and in all directions, and thus the mirrorassemblies satisfy the requirements of ECE Regulation No. 46,incorporated by reference above, and optionally a perimeter band may bedisposed at the perimeter region of the rear surface of the reflectiveelement substrate to hide or conceal the outer or forward edge or lip orprotrusion of the mirror casing from view by a person viewing thereflective element when the mirror assembly is normally mounted in avehicle.

The interior rearview mirror assemblies of the present invention thusprovide enhanced aesthetically pleasing appearances and may provideincreased reflective/viewing areas at the mirror assemblies, since themirror assemblies do not include a bezel portion or the like thatoverlaps the perimeter region of the front surface of the frontsubstrate of the reflective element. The mirror assemblies of thepresent invention may also provide for smaller mirror assemblies andthus increased forward vision around the mirrors (such as, for example,an increase of about 15-25 percent around the interior mirror assembly)while providing a given rearward field of view to the driver of thevehicle (and thus may provide a mass reduction (such as, for example, ofabout 10-12 percent) as compared to conventional mirror assemblies), dueto the frameless or non-bezel construction and/or due to the inclusionof capacitive sensors/buttons/inputs at and behind the reflectiveelement instead of separate buttons at a chin portion of the bezel ormirror casing. For example, for two mirror assemblies providing a givenrearward field of view or reflector size, the mirror assembly of thepresent invention (without any bezel or buttons outside of thereflecting surface or viewing area of the mirror assembly) may providean overall mirror size decrease of about 3,000 square millimeters (whichmay provide about a 24 percent reduction in the mirror size). Also, thepresent invention provides unique styling resulting from the prismaticglass reflecting surface being bonded directly to the mirror case,thereby resulting in a one piece mirror head assembly. Also, thepolished glass edge of the mirror reflective element of the presentinvention may provide a stronger reflective element substrate (such asabout 65 percent stronger) as compared to a conventional cut edge glasssubstrate due to the removal or reduction of edge stress points and/ormicro-fractures. The present invention may provide these enhancements inappearance and durability and size/weight, all while satisfying therequirements of the ECE Regulation No. 46. Although the substrates ofthe mirror assemblies discussed herein are described as glasssubstrates, clearly, the mirror substrates may be formed of a polymericresin material, such as a transparent water clear optical plastic, suchas a polycarbonate material or acrylic material or the like, whileremaining within the spirit and scope of the present invention. In suchpolymeric substrate applications, the beveled front perimeter andslanted rear perimeter edge-portion can be established during theforming of the polymeric substrate, such as by injection molding in asuitably constructed and designed injection molding tool, such as in amanner known in the injection molding art.

Optionally, other means may be implemented to provide a mirror assemblywith a circumferential curved or beveled front perimeter at the mirrorreflective element. For example, and with reference to FIG. 20A, aninterior prismatic mirror assembly may include a typical prismaticinterior rearview mirror glass reflective element 1114, which may beenclosed or encased or encapsulated within a see-through clear plasticencapsulation 1115 (such as a clear plastic optical grade acrylic orPMMA or optical grade polycarbonate to provide a water clearencapsulation), which may be configured with curved or rounded orbeveled outer or front perimeter regions. For example, a conventionalinterior prismatic mirror element may be loaded into an injection moldand an optical grade polymeric resin may be integrally molded around themirror element. Optionally, the encapsulation may be selected to have adegree of resilience or impact resistance to enhance the safety featuresof the mirror assembly. The encapsulation 1115 is configured to attachto the remainder of the mirror casing or housing or the like, such asvia insertion of mounting flanges or tabs 1115 a of encapsulation 1115into a receiving or attaching portion of the mirror casing or housing orattachment plate or the like. Optionally, and as shown in FIG. 20B, anoptically clear or transparent plastic encapsulation or cover 1117 maybe disposed over the front surface of a reflective element substrate1119 (which may be prism-shaped). The encapsulation or cover 1117 mayhave a wedge-shaped or prism-shaped cover portion 1117 a at and over thefront surface of the substrate 1119, and may have a rounded or curved orbeveled outer or front perimeter regions 1117 b and attachment portionsor flanges 1117 c for attaching to the mirror casing or housing orattachment plate 1121 or the like. Optionally, and as exemplified inFIG. 20C, a mirror reflective element 1119′ (which may comprise aprismatic reflective element or an electro-optic reflective element) maybe disposed within a clear plastic cover element 1117′, which is curvedor formed or configured to encompass or encapsulate the perimeter of thereflective element and to attach to the outboard or forward end regionof the mirror casing or holder 1121′. Although shown as spaced from thereflective element 1119′, the plastic cover element 1117′ may bedisposed at and in contact with the front surface of the reflectiveelement and/or may be optically coupled with the front surface of thereflective element, such as via a suitable optical adhesive or the likedisposed between the cover element and the front surface of thereflective element. Optionally, and desirably, the curved or beveledfront perimeter 1117 b′ of cover element 1117′ may have a concealinglayer or finish or the like (such as a film or paint or the like)disposed at either the front or rear surface of the cover element 1117′to conceal or render covert the presence of the perimeter of thereflective element and the mirror casing or housing or holder to adriver of the vehicle when the mirror assembly is normally mounted atthe vehicle.

Optionally, and with reference to FIG. 20D, a prismatic reflectiveelement 1123 may have a prism-shaped substrate with notches or recesses1123 a established at the front perimeter regions of the substrate, anda mirror housing or holder or casing or bezel 1125 may be formed to haveforward lips or flanges 1125 a that are received in notches or recesses1123 a when reflective element 1123 is received in the mirror holder,whereby the mirror holder 1125 has a curved front perimeter 1125 b toprovide a smooth convex-curved transition from the outer surface of theside portions 1125 c of the mirror holder to the generally planar frontsurface 1123 b of the reflective element 1123.

Optionally, and as exemplified in FIG. 20E, a cast glass prismaticreflective element 1127 has a rounded or curved or beveled frontperimeter 1127 a at the perimeter of its front surface 1127 b and hasits rear surface 1127 c recessed, whereby side perimeter portions orprotrusions 1127 d extend rearwardly from the rear surface 1127 c towardthe mirror housing or attachment plate or holder 1129. The rear surface1127 c of reflective element 1127 is adhered to the plastic housing orattachment plate or holder 1129 via a layer of adhesive 1131 or thelike. Thus, the cast prism has its reflecting surface (the rear surface1127 c) contained or enclosed within the perimeter of the glasssubstrate by the rearward extending perimeter portion 1127 d of theglass substrate or prism 1127. The curved front perimeter 1127 bprovides a smooth curved transition from the outer surface of the sideportions 1129 a of the mirror holder 1129 to the generally planar frontsurface 1127 b of the reflective element 1127.

Optionally, and with reference to FIG. 20F, a prismatic reflectiveelement 1133 is circumscribed or encased or surrounded along itsperimeter by a soft or resilient element 1135, which may be attached toor overmolded at the plastic mirror casing or holder or attachment plate1137. The resilient element 1135 may comprise a soft material, such as amaterial having less than a 50 Shore A durometer hardness, such as arubber, silicone or thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) or the like. The softor resilient element 1135 may have a rounded or beveled front perimeter1135 a (such as shown in FIG. 20F), and may provide a smooth curvedtransition between the outer surface of the side portions 1137 a of themirror holder 1137 to the generally planar front surface 1133 a of themirror reflective element substrate 1133. The resilient element 1135 maybe overmolded at or over or along an element or protrusion 1137 b of themirror holder 1137. Optionally, the perimeter edge 1133 b of thereflective element 1133 may be formed or shaped or contoured to engageor be received at the formed or shaped or contoured inner perimetersurface 1135 b of resilient element 1135. Optionally, a resilientelement 1135′ (FIG. 20G) may be disposed at a reflective element 1133′and may have a smaller radius curved front perimeter 1135 a′ than theembodiments discussed above due to the softer quality of the resilientelement (such as less than a 50 Shore A durometer hardness or the like)disposed around the perimeter edge region 1133 b′ of the reflectiveelement 1133′. Optionally, and as shown in FIG. 20H, the mirror casingor holder 1137″ may be formed to receive the reflective elementsubstrate 1133″ therein, with the mirror casing or holder 1137″ having arounded or curved or beveled front perimeter 1137 a″ that may slightlyoverlap a portion of the perimeter edge region 1133 b″ of the reflectiveelement to provide a smooth convex-curved transition between the outersurface of the mirror holder to the generally planar front surface 1133a″ of the mirror reflective element substrate 1133″. Optionally, suchconfigurations may be suitable for use with an electro-optic reflectiveelement, such as an electrochromic reflective element, whereby theresilient element or mirror holder or casing may be disposed along theperimeter of the front substrate of the reflective element.

Optionally, and as exemplified in FIG. 20I, a mirror reflective element1139 may be disposed at or received at or in a receiving portion 1141 fof a mirror holder or casing 1141, where the mirror holder 1141 has acurved or beveled front perimeter 1141 a that extends forwardly from anattaching portion 1141 b of the mirror holder 1141 an amount so that theouter front portion 1141 c of the front perimeter 1141 a is generally ator coplanar with or flush with the front surface 1139 a of thereflective element. The glass substrate 1139 may be cut, with anoptionally polished perimeter edge and with a tight fit with the holderand with the perimeter edge 1139 b of the substrate 1139 being at orengaging or contacting the inner perimeter surface 1141 d of the mirrorholder 1141. Optionally, the mirror holder or casing 1141 may be formedas a unitary housing or casing for the mirror assembly (as shown in FIG.20I). Optionally, a mirror reflective element 1139′ may be retained orheld or received at a receiving portion 1141 f′ of a mirror holder orattachment element or casing portion 1141′ (FIG. 20J) that may includeattachment portions 1141 e′ for attaching the mirror holder or casingportion 1141′ to a rear housing or casing or cap 1143′ or the like ofthe mirror assembly (such as via a snap fit or fastenerless attachmentor other suitable attachment means). Optionally, the mirror holder orattachment element 1141′ may comprise a clear plastic attachment plateand the housing or casing or cap 1143′ may comprise a black plastic (orother color or clear) element, depending on the particular applicationand desired appearance of the mirror assembly. Optionally, and as shownin FIG. 20K, the mirror substrate 1139″ may have its front perimeterregion 1139 c″ ground and/or polished to provide a slight radius at thefront perimeter, and with the polished or radiused front perimeterregion 1139 c″ providing a smooth curved transition between the outersurface of the mirror holder 1141″ to the generally planar front surface1139 a″ of the mirror reflective element substrate 1139″. Optionally,the mirror holder or attachment element 1141″ may comprise a clearplastic attachment plate and the housing or casing or cap 1143″ maycomprise a black plastic (or other color or clear) element, depending onthe particular application and desired appearance of the mirrorassembly. Such configurations may be suitable for use with either aprismatic reflective element or an electro-optic reflective element,such as an electrochromic reflective element.

Optionally, and as exemplified in FIG. 20L, an electro-optic reflectiveelement 1145 may be disposed at or received in a mirror holder orhousing or casing 1147, and the mirror holder 1147 may have a curvedoutboard end portion or element 1147 a that provides a smoothconvex-curved transition between the outer surface of the mirror holder1147 to the generally planar front surface 1145 a of the front substrate1145 b of the electro-optic mirror reflective element 1145. The mirrorholder is formed with a recess or groove or notch 1147 b established atits inner surface to receive and support or retain the perimeter regionof the rear substrate 1145 c of the reflective element 1145 therein, sothat the reflective element is retained at the mirror holder. The curvedoutboard end portion or element 1147 a of mirror holder 1147 may curveor extend inboard toward the perimeter edge 1145 d of the frontsubstrate 1145 b, which may have a smaller cross dimension than the rearsubstrate 1145 c, as can be seen with reference to FIG. 20L. Optionally,and with reference to FIG. 20M, the curved outboard end portion orelement 1147 a′ of the mirror holder 1147′ may have an angled or slantedor otherwise formed or shaped perimeter 1147 c′, which may be formed tocorrespond to a slanted or angled or otherwise formed or shapedperimeter edge 1145 d′ of the front substrate 1145 b′ of the reflectiveelement 1145′. Optionally, and as can be seen in FIG. 20M, the mirrorholder 1147′ may not include a groove or notch for receiving theperimeter regions of the rear substrate.

Optionally, and as exemplified in FIG. 20N, a mirror reflective element1149 has a glass substrate 1149 a that may be received at or in a mirrorholder or housing or casing 1151, with a gasket or retaining element1153 disposed along the perimeter edge 1149 b of the substrate 1149 aand received in a groove or notch or channel 1149 c at the perimeteredge 1149 b of the substrate 1149 a and received in a groove or notch orchannel 1151 a of the mirror holder 1151. The glass substrate 1149 athus may be held or retained at the mirror holder 1151 via the gasket orretaining element 1153. The mirror holder 1151 includes a curved orbeveled front perimeter 1151 b that provides a smooth convex-curvedtransition between the outer surface of the mirror holder 1151 to thegenerally planar front surface 1149 d of the mirror substrate 1149 a.Such configurations may be suitable for use with either a prismaticreflective element or an electro-optic reflective element, such as anelectrochromic reflective element, where the retaining element or gasket1153 may be disposed along the perimeter of the front substrate and/orthe rear substrate to retain the substrate or substrates and thereflective element relative to the mirror holder.

Optionally, and with reference to FIG. 11, an interior rearview mirrorassembly 910 for a vehicle includes a casing 912, a reflective element914 (such as a prismatic reflecting element comprising a prismatic orwedge-shaped substrate with a mirror reflector coating or layer disposedat its rear surface) positioned at a front portion of the casing 912.Mirror assembly 910 is adjustably mounted to an interior portion of avehicle (such as to an interior surface of a vehicle windshield or aheadliner of a vehicle or the like) via a mounting structure or mountingconfiguration or assembly 918 (such as a channel mount assembly 918 aand a toggle assembly 918 b, such as known in the art or such as atoggle device of the types described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,318,870 and/or7,249,860, and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/558,892, filedSep. 14, 2009 and published Apr. 8, 2010 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No.US-2010-0085653, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties). The reflective element 914 attaches to the mountingsurfaces or portions 940 of the mirror casing 912, such as via anadhesive or tape 944.

Mirror assembly 910 includes a circuit element 932 (such as a printedcircuit board or the like) with one or more electrical user inputdevices 933, such as capacitive switches or inputs or the like, asdiscussed below. A button or input element or appliqué 946 is disposedbehind the mirror reflective element 914 and between the mirrorreflective element 914 and the circuit element 932 and user inputdevices 933. The mirror reflective element 914 may have apertures orwindows 914 a established at a display region 914 b of reflectiveelement, where the mirror reflector coating or layer is partially orwholly removed from the surface of the reflective element (such as therear surface of a prismatic reflective element) so that a person viewingthe front surface of the reflective element can view the appliquédisposed behind the reflective element.

The user input devices 933 comprise touch sensor devices, such ascapacitive touch sensor devices or the like, disposed at the circuitelement 932 and generally aligned with icons or the like representativeof the function of the devices and established on the appliqué 946.Thus, when a user touches his or her finger to the front surface of thereflective element at a particular one of the icons (or approaches thefront surface of the reflective element at or near a particular one ofthe icons), the respective sensor device 933 disposed at that icondetects the presence or touch of the finger and is actuated to actuateor control the particular function or operation associated with the iconand user input or sensor device.

Optionally, the touch sensor mirror 910 may use projected capacitivesensors (which may replace mechanical switches traditionally mounted inthe “chin” of the mirror below the reflector). Such projected capacitivesensors work by sensing a change in capacitance when the user's fingercomes in close proximity to the sensor. Capacitive sensors are known andtypically comprise a capacitor having two conductors with a givensurface area separated by an insulator of a given thickness. In atypical capacitor, these two conductors are parallel plates separated byan insulator forming a “sandwich”. One lead of the capacitor iselectrically connected to one plate and the other lead is connected tothe other plate. When an electric current flows through the capacitor, apositive electrical charge accumulates on one plate and a correspondingnegative charge accumulates on the other plate. The attraction betweenthe positive and negative charges allows a certain amount of charge tobe accumulated on the plates for a given applied voltage. If the layerof insulation between the plates is reduced in thickness, the attractionbetween the charges increases and allows more charge to accumulate for agiven applied voltage. Likewise, if the plate surface area is increased,an additional amount of charge can be accumulated at a given appliedvoltage.

This ability for the capacitor to accumulate charge is defined ascapacitance. In a simple capacitor, capacitance is proportional to thearea of the plates and inversely proportional to the distance betweenthe plates. Another factor that determines capacitance is the dielectricconstant of the insulator between the plates. The dielectric constant isa measure of the tendency for an insulating material to electricallypolarize in the presence of an electric field. A higher dielectricconstant results in greater electric field intensity between the platesand therefore increases the ability for the capacitor to hold a charge.

For a given capacitance, the voltage across the capacitor isproportional to the amount of charge on the plates of the capacitor:Q=C·V (Equation 1), where Q is the charge in coulombs, V is the voltagein volts, and C is the capacitance in farads. The current through acapacitor is equal to the rate of change of the charge Q relative totime, i.e., the derivative of Q with respect to t: I=dQ/dt (Equation 2),where I is the current in amperes (amps) or coulombs per second. Takingthe derivative of both sides of Equation 1 relative to time results inthe following relationship: I=dQ/dt=C·dV/dt (Equation 3). In otherwords, the current through a capacitor of a given capacitance isproportional to the rate of change of voltage across the capacitor.

Capacitance can be measured in several ways. One way is to place a givenamount of charge on the capacitor and measure the resulting voltageacross the capacitor. Another way is to charge the capacitor with agiven current and measure the time it takes for the capacitor to reach agiven voltage. Still another way is to increase the voltage across thecapacitor at a given rate and measure the resulting current flow.

A capacitor is often wired in series with a resistor to form an RCnetwork. When a voltage V₀ is applied across the network, a current willflow through the resistor and charge the capacitor. If the capacitorstarts in a discharged state, the voltage across the capacitor willstart at zero and increase according to the following equation:V_(t)=V₀(1−e^(−t/RC)) (Equation 4). When t=RC, the capacitor will havecharged to about 63.2 percent of full charge. This time interval isknown as the RC time constant and is often designated as T (lower casetau). If the resistance R in the network is known, the capacitance canbe calculated by measuring the time T that it takes for the capacitor tocharge to 63.2 percent of the applied voltage. The capacitance can thenbe calculated as follows: C=T/R (Equation 5), where R is the resistanceof the resistor in ohms, T is the time in seconds and C is thecapacitance in farads. The time required to charge to 63.2 percent ofthe applied voltage is therefore proportional to the capacitance.

The capacitive touch sensor consists of a plate made of metal or someother conductive material, covered with an insulating layer. This plateforms one half of a capacitor, with the other half being the nearestconductive object electrically connected to ground. Normally, thenearest such object is not very close to the plate and the resultingcapacitance is relatively low. When the user brings his or her fingerclose to the sensor (such as by approaching or touching the frontsurface of the mirror reflective element at the sensor location), thecapacitance increases due to the fact that the user's body iselectrically conductive and the distance between the user's finger andthe sensing plate is relatively small compared to the previouscondition. The user's body is relatively large and can accumulate asignificant charge and therefore is practically a “ground” in this case.

There are several ways for a touch sensor to measure capacitance. Oneway is to set up a relaxation oscillator, where the frequency of theoscillator is inversely proportional to the capacitance. The cycles ofthe oscillator are counted for a fixed time interval, and the resultingcount is used as an indication of capacitance. Such an oscillator can beimplemented using an inverter with a Schmitt trigger input. Such Schmitttriggers are known and provide hysteresis on the input, with the hightrigger or threshold being higher than the low trigger or threshold.Thus, the voltage has to increase beyond a certain point before a changeis made to the high state and then the voltage has to decrease to belowanother lower threshold before a change is made to the other state.

Another way to measure the capacitance is to use an RC network andmeasure the time constant. First, the capacitor is discharged, and thenallowed to charge through the resistor. The time it takes for thecapacitor to charge to a given voltage threshold is then measured.

Such a sensor 950 can be implemented with a common microcontroller 952with a resistor 954 as an additional component (such as shown FIG. 12).In such an application, instead of using 63.2 percent of the appliedvoltage as a threshold, half of the supply voltage may be used instead.This is because on modern CMOS microcontrollers, the logic threshold isapproximately half of the supply voltage. In either case, the time ittakes the capacitor to charge to a particular threshold voltage isproportional to the capacitance, and therefore the capacitance can bereliably measured. The grounded plate 956 a of the capacitor 956 in FIG.12 represents the presence (or absence) of the user's finger over thesensing element or plate 956 b.

Due to the introduction of electrical noise from the environment, themeasure of capacitance may vary slightly from one reading to the next.Therefore, it is desirable to take the average of several readings ofthe capacitance to effectively filter out this noise. In the case ofusing an oscillator, this is typically done automatically due to thefact that several cycles are counted over a time interval. The resultingcount is a reflection of the average frequency during the countinterval. In the case of the latter approach, the process of measuringthe time to charge the capacitor is repeated for several time intervalsand the resulting time measurements are summed together. The twoapproaches may be similar, except in the former case the time intervalis fixed and the number of cycles is variable, and in the second casethe number of cycles is fixed and the time interval is variable.

Although an increase in capacitance occurs when the user places his orher finger at or on the touch sensor, the absolute value of thatcapacitance is not easily predictable. Furthermore, the change incapacitance that occurs when the sensor is touched may be relativelysmall compared to changes that may occur due to changes in humidity,temperature, product build variations, presence of nearby objects and/orthe like. Therefore, it is desirable for the sensor to be able to detectsmall but abrupt or relatively rapid changes in capacitance whileignoring large changes that occur relatively slowly over a period oftime.

To detect an abrupt change in capacitance, each reading is compared toan average of a relatively large number of previous readings (thedetection average), composing a sort of “inertial reference”. Thedetection average is not to be confused with the average used to filterout noise mentioned in the previous section. The noise filtering averageis used as a low-pass filter to remove electrical noise andinterference, and the detection average is used as a basis for ahigh-pass filter to eliminate or reduce the effects of slow changes incapacitance so such slow changes won't be confused as a touch. In theformer case, the average is taken as the reading, while in the lattercase (the detection average), the detection average is a quantity towhich we are to compare that reading. Subsequently, when referring to areading, the reference is typically to an averaged reading.

For example, a system may take the sum (or average) of 16 counts inorder to filter out the noise to determine the value that the systemwill accept as an indication of the capacitance at a particular moment.This is the current reading. The system may then keep an average of thelast 16 of those readings to determine the detection reference. Thisaverage (A) can be calculated as a running average as follows:A_(i)=(A_(i-1)·15+R_(i))/16 (Equation 6), where A_(i) is the averageafter the current interval, A_(i-1) is the average after the previousinterval, and R; is the current reading. In this example, R is weighted1/16 in the running average. This weighting can be adjusted to changehow quickly the system responds to changing conditions. However, if thesystem responds too quickly, touch sensitivity will be reduced.

Even though an attempt has been made to filter out most of the noise inthe capacitance readings, there may still be some noise present.However, the change in capacitance due to a touch should be higher thanthis remaining noise level. In order to detect a touch, the system mayset a threshold that is below the change in value caused by a touch, butstill above this remaining noise level. This threshold is a quantitythat is added to the running average calculated above. While thedetection reference average changes over time, the threshold quantity isusually fixed and determined by experimentation and testing. Althoughthe overall capacitance reading may change substantially over time, themagnitude of the small change due to a touch will remain relativelyconsistent.

When the sensor is in operation, the capacitance readings arecontinually compared to the sum of the detection average and thethreshold value. If the reading does not exceed this sum, the detectionaverage is updated according to Equation 6 above. If the reading exceedsthe sum of the detection average and the threshold value, a touch eventis triggered.

In order to simulate continued pressing of a button, the detectionaverage is not adjusted as long as a touch event is triggered. Thiscauses the sensor output to remain in a triggered state as long as theuser's finger is at or on or near to the sensor and may prevent thedetection average from adjusting to the presence of the finger. Thisallows the system to incorporate “nested input states” on the input orbutton. Once the readings fall below the trigger level, updating of thedetection average resumes.

In some cases, the remaining noise in the readings may cause a slightoverlap between readings that may occur during a touch and those thatmay occur when the sensor is not touched. If this is the case, it maynot be possible to set a reliable threshold to detect a touch, as toolow a threshold would allow false triggering, and too high a thresholdwould result in vacillation between touched and untouched states whilethe user's finger is still present. To address this, the detectionthreshold may incorporate some hysteresis, where the threshold levelused to detect a touch is higher than the threshold level used to detectwhen the touch ends or when the user releases and moves their fingerfrom the sensor or sensor region.

Referring now to FIGS. 13-17, a capacitive sensor system 1010 includes acapacitor sensor plate 1012, which may be disposed at or behind an inputregion of a reflective element of an interior rearview mirror assembly(where the other portion or “plate” of the capacitor would be a user'sfinger that approaches or contacts or touches the mirror reflectiveelement at or near the input region in front of the capacitor sensorplate 1012). The capacitive sensor system 1010 includes a pair ofcomparators 1014, 1016 and a set/reset latch or switch 1018, and afrequency counter or timer 1020 and interval counter or timer 1022. Ascan be seen in FIG. 13, the comparators 1014, 1016 output to theset/reset latch 1018 and if the voltage V2 in is greater than about ⅔Vcc, then the output goes to low on the D output of set/resent latch1018, and if the voltage in is less than about ⅓ Vcc, then the outputgoes to high on the D output. When the voltage V1 (the output of theset/reset latch 1018) goes high, it charges the capacitor through theresistor 1024, and the voltage V2 continues to ramp up (with the rate ofthe ramp up of V2 being determined by the resistor (which is fixed) andthe capacitance at the capacitor 1012 (which may be variable dependingon if its touched or not). Thus, when a user touches the capacitor (ortouches the mirror reflective element at or in front of the capacitorplate), the capacitance increases and the rate of ramping of the voltageV2 is reduced so the rate at which the voltage V2 increases is reduced.The voltage V2 feeds back to the comparators and the system, and whenvoltage V2 changes between ⅓ Vcc and ⅔ Vcc, the output D of theset/reset latch 1018 changes accordingly. The output D of the set/resetlatch 1018 is fed into the frequency counter 1020, which counts orincrements every time the voltage V1 pulses (every time V1 goes from lowto high). The increments or count total of frequency counter 1020 arechecked and determined at the end of each given time interval (asdetermined by the interval counter 1022, so that the system executes ordetermines whether or not there is a touch or presence at the sensors atregular intervals), and this counter is reset after each cycle. The stepfunction and ramping function of the voltages V1 and V2 are shown inFIG. 14. When the increments of the frequency counter 1020 aredetermined at the end of the time interval to be below a thresholdamount (or reduced from an average level by a threshold amount), such ascan be seen with reference to FIG. 15, then the system determines thatthe capacitance has increased, such as due to a user touching the mirrorreflective element at the user input region.

As shown in FIG. 17, the process flow 1030 for the capacitive sensorsystem 1010 starts at 1032 and initializes variables, registers andinterrupts at 1034 and waits to stabilize at 1036 (and during thesesteps the system may obtain or determine a baseline capacitance readingfor the sensor). The system then enters a “do nothing loop” at 1038 andwaits during the counting period (as counted by the interval counter ortimer 1022) until the timer interval is completed. At the end of thecounter or timer interval, the system runs an interrupt process at 1040and disables the timers at 1042 to prevent the interval counter or timerfrom counting another time interval during the processing of thefrequency counter readings. The system reads the frequency counter 1020at 1044 and determines at 1046 whether or not the counter value is lessthan the value of the average value minus a given or predeterminedthreshold value. If the counter value is not less than the average minusthreshold value, then the system clears the output state at 1048 andcalculates at 1050 the average by adding the previous average plus thedifference between the current counter value and the previous averagedivided by some given number (such as 16 in the illustrated embodiment).The system then resets and enables both counters or timers 1020 and 1022at 1052 and returns from the interrupt (to the do-nothing loop) at 1054.If the counter value is less than the average minus threshold value,then the system determines that there was a touch at the sensor plateand sets the output state at 1056 accordingly (which generates a signalindicative of a touch at a particular button region or input region atthe mirror reflective element). The system then resets and enables bothcounters or timers 1020 and 1022 at 1052 and returns from the interrupt(to the do-nothing loop) at 1054.

Optionally, and desirably, the mirror assembly may have graphics oricons for the user inputs or sensors disposed at or viewable at themirror reflective element, such as at a lower region of the reflectiveelement. For example, the graphics or icons may be established at anappliqué or element that is disposed behind the reflective element andviewable through the reflective element, such as viewable through atransflective mirror reflector or viewable through a window or apertureestablished at the mirror reflector by ablating or removing some or allof the mirror reflector coating at the user input region (or masking theuser input region during deposition of the mirror reflector coating).

Optionally, for an electro-optic reflective element, such as anelectrochromic reflective element, the graphics or icons may be disposedbehind the rear or fourth surface of the rear substrate, and may besubstantially hidden or non-viewable behind a transflective orDisplay-on-Demand (DoD) mirror reflector coating, so as to be visiblewhen an illumination source or the like at the user input is powered(such as to backlight the graphic or icon). The capacitive switches ortouch sensors may be located below the rear glass substrate (such as ina similar manner as shown in FIG. 5), since the capacitive switches maynot operate behind or through the front and rear substrates and theelectrochromic medium established therebetween, and the capacitiveswitches or touch sensors may be disposed behind the concealingperimeter band (such as a reflective band, such as a chrome band or thelike, or such as a non-reflecting or light absorbing band or the like)that hides or conceals or renders covert the perimeter seal of theelectro-optic reflective element or cell.

The perimeter band may be laser etched or ablated or otherwise removedor reduced at the user input region or regions to allow a user to viewor discern or recognize the switch areas. Optionally, some of the laseretched area or areas at the perimeter band may be backlit so the userwould recognize that the backlit area is the switch or user input area(the area that the user is to touch to actuate the desired feature), andthe graphics above the backlit area is not the switch or user inputarea. Optionally, the backlighting may be direct backlighting, such asvia an illumination source (such as a light emitting diode) disposedbehind each area, and optionally with a diffuser in front of theillumination source to provide a generally uniform appearance of thebacklit region. Optionally, the backlighting may comprise indirectbacklighting, such as via a thin light guide film that would be side-litwith one or more illumination sources (such as one or more lightemitting diodes or the like) that are disposed outside or remote fromthe switch area (such an indirect backlighting approach may facilitatebacklighting of multiple switch areas with one or more commonillumination sources, with the light piping or light guiding film orelement directing the illumination emitted by the illumination source orsources toward the switch area or areas). Optionally, the switchesand/or illumination sources may be disposed at the perimeter concealinglayer or band and the etched area or areas of the perimeter concealinglayer or band may be electrically connected to a circuit or a separatecircuit like a flexible printed circuit (FPC) or standard printedcircuit board (PCB) or the like, or the perimeter layer or band maycomprise decoration and the switch itself may be on the circuit or FPCor PCB or the like.

Optionally, a coating, such as a transparent conductive layer orcoating, such as an indium tin oxide (ITO) coating or the like), may bedisposed at or on the front or first surface of the front substrate ofthe electro-optic reflective element or cell (such as with masked orlaser-etched areas to singulate or electrically isolate one or moreswitch areas). Such electrically isolated switch areas at the firstsurface of the reflective element or cell may allow the active switcharea to be in front of the graphics or icons that may be disposed at orin the dimming area of the variable reflectant electro-optic reflectiveelement or cell. The transparent conductive layer or coating may wraparound or overcoat or overlay the bottom perimeter edge dimension of thefront substrate and may be electrically connected to a circuit orcircuit element or electrical connector, such as via a conductive epoxyor conductive adhesive or the like (such as by utilizing aspects of themirror assemblies described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,274,501; 7,255,451;7,184,190 and/or 6,690,268, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties.

Optionally, in order to limit or avoid accidental actuations of one ormore of the capacitive sensors disposed at and behind the perimeterregion of the mirror reflective element when the user is otherwisetouching the front surface of the mirror reflective element, such aswhen wiping or washing the first or front surface of the reflectiveelement or when adjusting the mirror to adjust the rearward field ofview at the mirror, it is envisioned that the mirror assembly mayinclude an additional capacitive switch that is disposed at or behindthe rest of the reflective element, such as behind the entire orsubstantially the entire viewing area of the mirror reflective element(such as behind the entire or substantially the entire dimming area ofan electro-optic mirror reflective element or cell). Thus, if thesurface of the reflective element at the main viewing or dimming regionis being contacted, further contact at or near the user input or touchsensor input regions (such as at the lower perimeter region and such aswhere the icons or graphics are disposed) may be ignored by the touchsensor system. Thus, the system would recognize and respond to a user'stouch at one of the touch sensors when the system did not at the sametime receive an indication that another region or regions of the mirrorreflective element were also being touched by the user (since suchmultiple touching areas would be indicative of the user cleaning orwiping the reflective element surface or otherwise adjusting the mirrorassembly and reflective element).

Optionally, when a touch or presence is detected at two or more buttonsat the same time, but there is no detection of a touch or presence atthe rest of the reflective element (such a double touch may be anerroneous double actuation of the inputs by the user when the userlikely intended to actuate only one of two adjacent inputs or buttons),the system may implement a priority or hierarchy in determining whichbutton or input to actuate in response to such a detection. For example,the system may process the detections and determine which input had astronger reading or stronger detection of a touch and actuate or controlthe accessory according to that input or switch or button. Optionally,if the readings are generally or approximately the same strength orintensity or value (such as within a threshold tolerance or difference),the system may operate on a priority basis, and may actuate or controlthe accessory in accordance with a higher priority input over a lowerpriority input or the like.

Optionally, for touch sensitive inputs or applications or switches, themirror assembly or user input or system may, when activated, provide apositive feedback (such as activation of an illumination source or thelike, or such as via an audible signal, such as a chime or the like, ora tactile or haptic signal, or a rumble device or signal or the like) tothe user so that the user is made aware that the input was successfullyactivated. For example, the system may include a haptic feedback to thetouch sensor switches at and behind the mirror reflective element. Thus,when a user touches one of the user input regions to actuate the touchsensor or switch, the mirror may vibrate slightly to confirm to the userthat the touch was detected and the switch was actuated. Such a hapticfeedback feature may utilize aspects of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/091,525, filed Apr. 25, 2008 and published Jan. 15, 2009 as U.S. Pat.Pub. No. US-2009-0015736, which is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

Thus, the present invention provides an interior rearview mirrorassembly with a touch sensor element or switch disposed behind a glasssubstrate of the mirror reflective element of the mirror assembly. Thecapacitive “plate” or sensing element of the touch sensor may beestablished via electrical isolation of input regions of the transparentconductive coating established at a second or rear surface of a frontsubstrate of an electro-optic mirror reflective element or viaelectrical isolation of one or more input regions of a mirror reflectorcoating or layer established at a rear surface of a prismatic glasssubstrate of a prismatic mirror reflective element. For example, andwith reference to FIG. 18, the buttons or input regions 914 a′ of amirror assembly 910′ may be etched or otherwise established at thereflective element 914′ (such as by etching or laser etching or ablatingan isolation line 915′ through the conductive coating of the glasssubstrate to electrically isolate the individual buttons or inputregions 914 a′ from the rest of the conductive coating disposed at therear surface of the mirror substrate at the viewing area or reflectingarea of the mirror assembly. For the prismatic mirror reflective elementapplication of FIG. 18, the input regions 914 a′ are established byelectrically isolating portions of the reflector coating or layerdisposed over the rear surface of the prismatic substrate, and thusprovide reflection of light incident thereon so that the presence of theuser inputs does not take away from the reflective area of the mirrorreflective element. Optionally, one or more icons 914 b′ may be viewableat the input regions by removing or etching or ablating portions of themirror reflector coating so that the appliqué may be viewable throughthe reflective element at those areas. Optionally, and as can be seenwith reference to FIG. 19, the input regions 914 a″ of a mirror assembly910″ may have the reflector coating of the reflective element 914″removed thereat (such as by etching or ablating the mirror reflector orby masking during deposition of the mirror reflector) so that theappliqué 946″ (and icons or indicia established thereat) is viewablethrough the reflective element at the input regions 914 a″. In such anapplication, the input regions 914 a″ may have only a portion of themirror reflector removed thereat or may have a transparent electricallyconductive layer or coating established thereat or the input regions maybe established via electrically isolating portions of a conductiveconcealing layer established at a perimeter region of the rear surfaceof the reflective element so that an electrically conductive portion orlayer or coating is disposed at the input regions to act as thecapacitive sensing element or plate of the touch sensors or user inputs.

Optionally, the user inputs of the mirror assembly may comprise othertypes of switches or sensors for controlling or activating/deactivatingone or more electrical accessories or devices of or associated with themirror assembly. The mirror assembly may comprise any type of switchesor sensors, such as touch or proximity sensing switches, such as touchor proximity switches of the types described above, or the inputs maycomprise other types of switches or sensors, such as those described inU.S. Pat. No. 7,253,723 and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/414,190, filed Mar. 30, 2009 and published Oct. 1, 2009 as U.S. Pat.Pub. No. US-2009-0243824, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties, or such as fabric-made positiondetectors, such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,504,531;6,501,465; 6,492,980; 6,452,479; 6,437,258 and 6,369,804, which arehereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. Forexample, the inputs may comprise a touch or proximity sensor of thetypes commercially available from TouchSensor Technologies, LLC ofWheaton, Ill. The touch or proximity sensor may be operable to generatean electric field and to detect the presence of a conductive massentering the field. When a voltage is applied to the sensor, the sensorgenerates the electric field, which emanates through any dielectricmaterial, such as plastic or the like, at or near the sensor. When aconductive mass (such as a person's finger or the like, or metal or thelike) enters the electric field, the sensor may detect a change in thefield and may indicate such a detection. Other types of switches orbuttons or inputs or sensors may be incorporated to provide the desiredfunction, without affecting the scope of the present invention.

As discussed above, the mirror assembly comprises an electro-optic orelectrochromic mirror assembly and includes an electro-optic orelectrochromic reflective element. The perimeter edges of the reflectiveelement may be encased or encompassed by the perimeter element orportion of the bezel portion to conceal and contain and envelop theperimeter edges of the substrates and the perimeter seal disposedtherebetween. The electrochromic mirror element of the electrochromicmirror assembly may utilize the principles disclosed in commonlyassigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,274,501; 7,255,451; 7,195,381; 7,184,190;6,690,268; 5,140,455; 5,151,816; 6,178,034; 6,154,306; 6,002,544;5,567,360; 5,525,264; 5,610,756; 5,406,414; 5,253,109; 5,076,673;5,073,012; 5,117,346; 5,724,187; 5,668,663; 5,910,854; 5,142,407 and/or4,712,879, and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US2010/029173, filed Mar. 30,2010, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties, and/or as disclosed in the following publications: N. R.Lynam, “Electrochromic Automotive Day/Night Mirrors”, SAE TechnicalPaper Series 870636 (1987); N. R. Lynam, “Smart Windows forAutomobiles”, SAE Technical Paper Series 900419 (1990); N. R. Lynam andA. Agrawal, “Automotive Applications of Chromogenic Materials”, LargeArea Chromogenics: Materials and Devices for Transmittance Control, C.M. Lampert and C. G. Granquist, EDS., Optical Engineering Press, Wash.(1990), which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in theirentireties; and/or as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,195,381, which ishereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Optionally, theelectrochromic circuitry and/or a glare sensor (such as a rearwardfacing glare sensor that receives light from rearward of the mirrorassembly and vehicle through a port or opening along the casing and/orreflective element of the mirror assembly) and circuitry and/or anambient light sensor and circuitry may be provided on one or morecircuit boards of the mirror assembly. The mirror assembly may includeone or more other displays, such as the types disclosed in U.S. Pat.Nos. 5,530,240 and/or 6,329,925, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties, and/or display-on-demand transflectivetype displays, such as the types disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,274,501;7,255,451; 7,195,381; 7,184,190; 5,668,663; 5,724,187 and/or 6,690,268,and/or in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/226,628, filed Sep. 14,2005 and published Mar. 23, 2006 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No. US-2006-0061008;and/or Ser. No. 10/538,724, filed Jun. 13, 2005 and published Mar. 9,2006 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No. US-2006-0050018, which are all herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties. The thicknessesand materials of the coatings on the substrates, such as on the thirdsurface of the reflective element assembly, may be selected to provide adesired color or tint to the mirror reflective element, such as a bluecolored reflector, such as is known in the art and such as described inU.S. Pat. Nos. 5,910,854; 6,420,036 and/or 7,274,501, which are allhereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Optionally, it is envisioned that aspects of the present invention maybe suitable for an interior rearview mirror assembly that comprises aprismatic mirror assembly or a non-electro-optic mirror assembly (suchas a generally planar or optionally slightly curved mirror substrate) oran electro-optic or electrochromic mirror assembly. For example, theinterior rearview mirror assembly may comprise a prismatic mirrorassembly, such as the types described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,289,037;7,249,860; 6,318,870; 6,598,980; 5,327,288; 4,948,242; 4,826,289;4,436,371 and 4,435,042, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties. Optionally, the prismatic reflectiveelement may comprise a conventional prismatic reflective element orprism or may comprise a prismatic reflective element of the typesdescribed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,420,756; 7,289,037; 7,274,501; 7,249,860;7,338,177 and/or 7,255,451, which are all hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties, without affecting the scope of thepresent invention. A variety of mirror accessories and constructions areknown in the art, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,555,136;5,582,383; 5,680,263; 5,984,482; 6,227,675; 6,229,319 and 6,315,421(which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties),that can benefit from the present invention.

Optionally, the mirror assembly may include user interface inputs, suchas buttons or switches or touch or proximity sensors or the like, withwhich a user may adjust or control one or more accessories, such as viathe principles described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,360,932 and/or U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/091,525, filed Apr. 25, 2008 and published Jan.15, 2009 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No. US-2009-0015736; Ser. No. 11/239,980,filed Sep. 30, 2005 and published Jun. 15, 2006 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No.US-2006-0125919; and/or Ser. No. 12/576,550, filed Oct. 9, 2009 andpublished Apr. 15, 2010 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No. US-2010-0091394, which arehereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

The interior rearview mirror assembly may include a casing, such asdescribed above, or the mirror assembly may comprise or utilize aspectsof other types of casings or the like, such as described in U.S. Pat.Nos. 7,338,177; 7,289,037; 7,249,860; 6,439,755; 4,826,289 and6,501,387, which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties, without affecting the scope of the present invention.For example, the mirror assembly may utilize aspects of the flush orframeless or bezelless reflective elements described in U.S. Pat. Nos.7,626,749; 7,360,932; 7,289,037; 7,255,451; 7,274,501 and/or 7,184,190,and/or in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/226,628, filed Sep. 14,2005 and published Mar. 23, 2006 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No. US-2006-0061008;and/or Ser. No. 10/538,724, filed Jun. 13, 2005 and published Mar. 9,2006 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No. US-2006-0050018, which are all herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Optionally, the mirror assembly may comprise a modular mirrorconstruction, and may include back housing portions or the like, such ascap portions of the types described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,289,037, which ishereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. A displayscreen may be provided as a modular display screen and may be mountableor installable in the appropriate or suitable mirror casing to provide amodular mirror assembly and display screen. For example, a rear casingor cap portion may include the display screen module including theassociated components, such as the rails and motor and the like for avideo slideout module (such as by utilizing aspects of the video mirrorsdescribed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,370,983 and 6,690,268, and/or U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/538,724, filed Jun. 13, 2005 and published Mar.9, 2006 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No. US-2006-0050018; and/or Ser. No.12/091,525, filed Apr. 25, 2008 and published Jan. 15, 2009 as U.S. Pat.Pub. No. US-2009-0015736, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties), and may be attachable to a reflectiveelement and/or mirror casing to assemble the modular mirror assembly.The display screen module thus may be provided as an optional componentor accessory for a vehicle, and may be readily assembled to a commonreflective element and/or mirror casing of the mirror assembly.

Optionally, the mirror casing and/or reflective element may includecustomized or personalized viewable characteristics, such as color orsymbols or indicia selected by the vehicle manufacturer or owner of thevehicle, such as the customization characteristics described in U.S.Pat. Nos. 7,626,749; 7,255,451; 7,289,037, which are hereby incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties.

Optionally, the mirror assembly and/or prismatic or electrochromicreflective element may include one or more displays, such as for theaccessories or circuitry described herein. The displays may be of typesdisclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,530,240 and/or 6,329,925, which are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties, and/or may bedisplay-on-demand or transflective type displays, such as the typesdisclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,338,177; 7,274,501; 7,195,381; 6,690,298;5,668,663 and/or 5,724,187, and/or in U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005 and published Mar. 23, 2006 as U.S. Pat.Pub. No. US-2006-0061008; and/or Ser. No. 12/091,525, filed Jul. 15,2008 and published Jan. 15, 2009 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No. US-2009-0015736,which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties. Optionally, the prismatic reflective element may comprise adisplay on demand or transflective prismatic element (such as describedin U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,274,501 and/or 7,338,177, which are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties) so that thedisplays are viewable through the reflective element, while the displayarea still functions to substantially reflect light, in order to providea generally uniform prismatic reflective element even in the areas thathave display elements positioned behind the reflective element.

Such a video display screen device or module may comprise any type ofvideo screen and is operable to display images in response to an inputor signal from a control or imaging system. For example, the videodisplay screen may comprise a multi-pixel liquid crystal module (LCM) orliquid crystal display (LCD), preferably a thin film transistor (TFT)multi-pixel liquid crystal display (such as discussed below), or thescreen may comprise a multi-pixel organic electroluminescent display ora multi-pixel light emitting diode (LED), such as an organic lightemitting diode (OLED) or inorganic light emitting diode display or thelike, or a passive reflective and/or backlit pixelated display, or anelectroluminescent (EL) display, or a vacuum fluorescent (VF) display orthe like. For example, the video display screen may comprise a videoscreen of the types disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,370,983; 7,338,177;7,274,501; 7,255,451; 7,195,381; 7,184,190; 6,902,284; 6,690,268;6,428,172; 6,420,975; 5,668,663; 5,724,187; 5,416,313; 5,285,060;5,193,029 and/or 4,793,690, and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/538,724, filed Jun. 13, 2005 and published Mar. 9, 2006 as U.S. Pat.Pub. No. US-2006-0050018; Ser. No. 11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005 andpublished Mar. 23, 2006 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No. US-2006-0061008; Ser. No.12/091,525, filed Apr. 25, 2008 and published Jan. 15, 2009 as U.S. Pat.Pub. No. US-2009-0015736; Ser. No. 09/585,379, filed Jun. 1, 2000, nowabandoned; and/or Ser. No. 10/207,291, filed Jul. 29, 2002, nowabandoned, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

The video display screen may be controlled or operable in response to aninput or signal, such as a signal received from one or more cameras orimage sensors of the vehicle, such as a video camera or sensor, such asa CMOS imaging array sensor, a CCD sensor or the like, such as the typesdisclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,550,677; 5,760,962; 6,396,397; 6,097,023;5,877,897 and 5,796,094, and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/534,632, filed May 11, 2005 and published Aug. 3, 2006 as U.S. Pat.Pub. No. US-2006-0171704, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties, or from one or more imaging systems ofthe vehicle, such as a reverse or backup aid system, such as arearwardly directed vehicle vision system utilizing principles disclosedin U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,550,677; 5,760,962; 5,670,935; 6,201,642; 6,396,397;6,498,620; 6,717,610 and/or 6,757,109, which are hereby incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties, a trailer hitching aid or towcheck system, such as the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,005,974,which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, acabin viewing or monitoring device or system, such as a baby viewing orrear seat viewing camera or device or system or the like, such asdisclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,877,897 and/or 6,690,268, which are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties, a videocommunication device or system, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.6,690,268, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety, and/or the like. The imaging sensor or camera may be activatedand the display screen may be activated in response to the vehicleshifting into reverse, such that the display screen is viewable by thedriver and is displaying an image of the rearward scene while the driveris reversing the vehicle.

Optionally, a rear camera, such as a rear backup video camera/imager orthe like (such as a camera and system of the types described in U.S.Pat. Nos. 5,550,677; 5,670,935; 6,498,620; 6,222,447 and/or 5,949,331,which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties),may be disposed at the vehicle and may have a rearward field of viewrearward of the vehicle for capturing images rearward of the vehiclesuch as for driver assistance during a reversing maneuver of the vehicleor the like. Because such a rear camera has a rearward field of view,the rearward facing camera may be operable to capture images ofrearwardly approaching or following vehicles that are behind the vehicleequipped with the rearward facing camera when the vehicle so equipped isdriving forwardly along the road or highway. It is envisioned that animage processor or controller (such as an EyeQ™ image processing chipavailable from Mobileye Vision Technologies Ltd. of Jerusalem, Israel,and such as an image processor of the types described in PCT ApplicationNo. PCT/US10/25545, filed Feb. 25, 2010 and published Sep. 2, 2010 asInternational Pub. No. WO/2010/099416, which is hereby incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety) may process image data captured bythe rearward facing camera to assess glare lighting conditions (such asto detect headlights of following vehicles that may cause glare at theinterior and/or exterior rearview mirror assemblies of the equippedvehicle), and the controller may adjust or control the dimming of theelectro-optic mirror assembly or assemblies of the equipped vehicleresponsive to such image processing. Using principles of the systemsdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,550,677, which is hereby incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety, the system may operate toindependently control any one or more of the interior rearview mirrorassembly and the exterior rearview mirror assemblies of the equippedvehicle, such as based on the intensity and location of glare lightdetected by the camera and image processor. Such a rear reversing orbackup camera and controller can also operate to detect the ambientlight level present at the vehicle and may adjust the dimming of themirror system accordingly, and/or may adjust other displays, lightingand/or accessories of the vehicle in accordance with and responsive tothe ambient light detection by the rear backup camera (or by othercameras on the vehicle that view exterior to the vehicle). Such glaredetection and ambient light detection and image processing of image datacaptured by a rear backup assist camera of the vehicle may obviate theneed for a separate glare sensor elsewhere at the vehicle, such as at orin the interior rearview mirror assembly of the vehicle or the like.Such image processing and such a mirror control system may utilizeaspects of the imaging systems described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,550,677;5,670,935; 5,760,962; 6,201,642; 6,396,397; 6,498,620; 6,097,023;5,877,897 and 5,796,094, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties.

Optionally, the mirror assembly may include or may be associated with acompass sensor and circuitry for a compass system that detects anddisplays the vehicle directional heading to a driver of the vehicle.Optionally, an integrated automotive “compass-on-a-chip” may be disposedin a cavity of the mounting base of the mirror (or within the mirrorhousing or in an attachment to the mirror mount or elsewhere within themirror assembly such as to the rear of the video screen or to the rearof the mirror reflective element) and may comprise at least twomagneto-responsive sensor elements (such as a Hall sensor or multipleHall sensors), associated A/D and D/A converters, associatedmicroprocessor(s) and memory, associated signal processing andfiltering, associated display driver and associated LIN/CAN BUSinterface and the like, all (or a sub-set thereof) created or disposedor commonly established onto a semiconductor chip surface/substrate orsilicon substrate, such as utilizing CMOS technology and/or fabricationtechniques as known in the semiconductor manufacturing arts, andconstituting an ASIC chip, such as utilizing principles described inU.S. Pat. Nos. 7,329,013 and/or 7,370,983, and/or U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005 and published Mar.23, 2006 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No. US-2006-0061008, which are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties, and/or such as byutilizing aspects of an EC driver-on-a-chip such as described in U.S.Pat. No. 7,480,149, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference inits entirety. The ASIC chip may be small (preferably less thanapproximately a two square centimeter area, more preferably less thanapproximately a 1.5 square centimeter area, and most preferably lessthan approximately a one square centimeter area or thereabouts) andreadily packagable into the mirror assembly (or a feed from such acompass-on-a-chip may be provided to the mirror assembly from acompass-on-a-chip packaged elsewhere in the vehicle cabin remote fromthe mirror assembly such as in an instrument panel portion or in roofconsole portion). Such large scale integration onto the likes of thesilicon substrate/chip can allow a compass functionality to be providedby a relatively small chip, and with appropriate pin out or electricalleads provided as is common in the electrical art.

Optionally, a compass chip or compass module may be disposed at an upperend of the mounting base of a mirror assembly, such as at an upper orconnecting end of a wire management element connected to or extendingfrom the mounting base of the mirror assembly, such as by utilizingaspects of the mirror systems described in U.S. patent application Ser.No. 12/578,732, filed Oct. 14, 2009 and published Apr. 22, 2010 as U.S.Pat. Pub. No. US-2010-0097469, which is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety. The wire management system may include a wiremanagement element or channel or cover element, such as by utilizingaspects of the wire management systems or elements described in U.S.Pat. No. 7,510,287 and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/226,628,filed Sep. 14, 2005 and published Mar. 23, 2006 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No.US-2006-0061008, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties.

The compass chip may be in communication with a compass display, whichmay provide a display region at the reflective element, and whichincludes ports or portions, which may comprise icons, characters orletters or the like representative of only the cardinal directionalpoints, such as, for example, the characters N, S, E, W, formed oretched in the reflective film coating of the reflective element (andforming a transparent window therein), such as via techniques such asdisclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,882,565 and/or7,004,593, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in theirentireties. Optionally, however, reflective element may comprise atransflective or display on demand (DOD) reflective element, and thecompass display may be a display on demand (DOD) type of display, suchas disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,195,381; 6,690,268;5,668,663 and 5,724,187, which are hereby incorporated by referenceherein in their entireties, without affecting the scope of the presentinvention.

Optionally, the compass system and compass circuitry may utilize aspectsof the compass systems described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,370,983; 7,329,013;7,289,037; 7,249,860; 7,004,593; 6,928,366; 6,642,851; 6,140,933;4,546,551; 5,699,044; 4,953,305; 5,576,687; 5,632,092; 5,677,851;5,708,410; 5,737,226; 5,802,727; 5,878,370; 6,087,953; 6,173,508;6,222,460 and/or 6,513,252, and/or European patent application,published Oct. 11, 2000 under Publication No. EP 0 1043566, and/or U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005 andpublished Mar. 23, 2006 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No. US-2006-0061008, which areall hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. Thecompass circuitry may include compass sensors, such as amagneto-responsive sensor, such as a magneto-resistive sensor, amagneto-capacitive sensor, a Hall sensor, a magneto-inductive sensor, aflux-gate sensor or the like. The sensor or sensors may be positioned atand within a base portion or mounting base of the mirror assembly sothat the sensor/sensors is/are substantially fixedly positioned withinthe vehicle, or may be attached or positioned within the mirror casing.Note that the magneto-responsive sensor used with the mirror assemblymay comprise a magneto-responsive sensor, such as a magneto-resistivesensor, such as the types disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,255,442;5,632,092; 5,802,727; 6,173,501; 6,427,349 and/or 6,513,252 (which arehereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties), or amagneto-inductive sensor, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,370(which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety), or amagneto-impedance sensor, such as the types described in PCT PublicationNo. WO 2004/076971, published Sep. 10, 2004 (which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety), or a Hall-effectsensor, such as the types described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,278,271;5,942,895 and/or 6,184,679 (which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties). The sensor circuitry and/or thecircuitry in the mirror housing and associated with the sensor mayinclude processing circuitry. For example, a printed circuit board mayinclude processing circuitry which may include compensation methods,such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,546,551; 5,699,044;4,953,305; 5,576,687; 5,632,092; 5,677,851; 5,708,410; 5,737,226;5,802,727; 5,878,370; 6,087,953; 6,173,508; 6,222,460 and/or 6,642,851,which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties. The compass sensor may be incorporated in or associated witha compass system and/or display system for displaying a directionalheading of the vehicle to the driver, such as a compass system of thetypes described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,289,037; 5,924,212; 4,862,594;4,937,945; 5,131,154; 5,255,442; 5,632,092 and/or 7,004,593, which areall hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Optionally, the mirror assembly and/or any associated user inputs may beassociated with various accessories or systems, such as, for example, atire pressure monitoring system or a passenger air bag status or agarage door opening system or a telematics system or any other accessoryor system of the mirror assembly or of the vehicle or of an accessorymodule or console of the vehicle, such as an accessory module or consoleof the types described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,289,037; 6,877,888;6,824,281; 6,690,268; 6,672,744; 6,386,742 and/or 6,124,886, and/or U.S.patent application Ser. No. 10/538,724, filed Jun. 13, 2005 andpublished Mar. 9, 2006 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No. US-2006-0050018, which arehereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Optionally, the user inputs or buttons may comprise user inputs for agarage door opening system, such as a vehicle based garage door openingsystem of the types described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,396,408; 6,362,771;7,023,322 and/or 5,798,688, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties. The user inputs may also or otherwisefunction to activate and deactivate a display or function or accessory,and/or may activate/deactivate and/or commence a calibration of acompass system of the mirror assembly and/or vehicle. The compass systemmay include compass sensors and circuitry within the mirror assembly orwithin a compass pod or module at or near or associated with the mirrorassembly. Optionally, the user inputs may also or otherwise compriseuser inputs for a telematics system of the vehicle, such as, forexample, an ONSTAR® system as found in General Motors vehicles and/orsuch as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,862,594; 4,937,945; 5,131,154;5,255,442; 5,632,092; 5,798,688; 5,971,552; 5,924,212; 6,243,003;6,278,377; 6,420,975; 6,477,464; 6,946,978; 7,308,341; 7,167,796;7,004,593; 7,657,052 and/or 6,678,614, and/or U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 10/538,724, filed Jun. 13, 2005 and published Mar. 9, 2006 asU.S. Pat. Pub. No. US-2006-0050018, which are all hereby incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties.

Optionally, the mirror assembly may include one or more otheraccessories at or within the mirror casing, such as one or moreelectrical or electronic devices or accessories, such as antennas,including global positioning system (GPS) or cellular phone antennas,such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,971,552, a communication module,such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,798,688, a blind spot detectionsystem, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,929,786 and/or 5,786,772,transmitters and/or receivers, such as a garage door opener or the like,a digital network, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,798,575, ahigh/low headlamp controller, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.5,796,094 and/or 5,715,093, a memory mirror system, such as disclosed inU.S. Pat. No. 5,796,176, a hands-free phone attachment, a video devicefor internal cabin surveillance and/or video telephone function, such asdisclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,760,962 and/or 5,877,897, a remote keylessentry receiver, lights, such as map reading lights or one or more otherlights or illumination sources, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.6,690,268; 5,938,321; 5,813,745; 5,820,245; 5,673,994; 5,649,756;5,178,448; 5,671,996; 4,646,210; 4,733,336; 4,807,096; 6,042,253;5,669,698; 7,195,381; 6,971,775 and/or 7,249,860, microphones, such asdisclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,657,052; 6,243,003; 6,278,377 and/or6,420,975, speakers, antennas, including global positioning system (GPS)or cellular phone antennas, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,971,552, a communication module, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,798,688, a voice recorder, a blind spot detection system, such asdisclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,720,580; 7,038,577; 6,882,287; 5,929,786and/or 5,786,772, transmitters and/or receivers, such as for a garagedoor opener or a vehicle door unlocking system or the like (such as aremote keyless entry system), a digital network, such as described inU.S. Pat. No. 5,798,575, a high/low headlamp controller, such as acamera-based headlamp control, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.5,796,094 and/or 5,715,093, a memory mirror system, such as disclosed inU.S. Pat. No. 5,796,176, a hands-free phone attachment, an imagingsystem or components or circuitry or display thereof, such as an imagingand/or display system of the types described in U.S. Pat. Nos.7,400,435; 7,526,103; 6,690,268 and/or 6,847,487, and/or U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/239,980, filed Sep. 30, 2005 and published Jun.15, 2006 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No. US-2006-0125919, a video device forinternal cabin surveillance (such as for sleep detection or driverdrowsiness detection or the like) and/or video telephone function, suchas disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,760,962 and/or 5,877,897, a remotekeyless entry receiver, a seat occupancy detector, a remote startercontrol, a yaw sensor, a clock, a carbon monoxide detector, statusdisplays, such as displays that display a status of a door of thevehicle, a transmission selection (4wd/2wd or traction control (TCS) orthe like), an antilock braking system, a road condition (that may warnthe driver of icy road conditions) and/or the like, a trip computer, atire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) receiver (such as described inU.S. Pat. Nos. 6,124,647; 6,294,989; 6,445,287; 6,472,979; 6,731,205and/or 7,423,522, and/or an ONSTAR® system, a compass, such as disclosedin U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,924,212; 4,862,594; 4,937,945; 5,131,154; 5,255,442and/or 5,632,092, and/or any other accessory or circuitry or the like(with all of the above-referenced patents and PCT and U.S. patentapplications being commonly assigned to Donnelly Corporation, and withthe disclosures of the referenced patents and patent applications beinghereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties).

Optionally, the mirror assembly (such as at the mounting base, which maybe fixed relative to the vehicle windshield) may include an imagingsensor (such as a forward facing imaging sensor or camera that has aforward field of view through the vehicle windshield) that may be partof or may provide an image output for a vehicle vision system, such as aheadlamp control system or lane departure warning system or objectdetection system or other vehicle vision system or the like, and mayutilize aspects of various imaging sensors or imaging array sensors orcameras or the like, such as a CMOS imaging array sensor, a CCD sensoror other sensors or the like, such as the types described in U.S. Pat.Nos. 5,550,677; 5,670,935; 5,760,962; 5,715,093; 5,877,897; 6,922,292;6,757,109; 6,717,610; 6,590,719; 6,201,642; 6,498,620; 5,796,094;6,097,023; 6,320,176; 6,559,435; 6,831,261; 6,806,452; 6,396,397;6,822,563; 6,946,978; 7,038,577; 7,004,606 and/or 7,720,580, and/or U.S.patent application Ser. No. 10/534,632, filed May 11, 2005 and publishedAug. 3, 2006 as U.S. Patent Publication No. US-2006-0171704; Ser. No.12/091,359, filed Jun. 10, 2008 and published Oct. 1, 2009 as U.S. Pat.Pub. No. US-2009-0244361; and/or Ser. No. 12/377,054, filed Feb. 10,2009 and published Aug. 26, 2010 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No. US-2010-0214791,which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties. The sensor may include a lens element or optic between theimaging plane of the imaging sensor and the forward scene tosubstantially focus the scene at an image plane of the imaging sensor.The imaging sensor may comprise an image sensing module or the like, andmay utilize aspects described in U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/534,632, filed May 11, 2005 and published Aug. 3, 2006 as U.S. Pat.Pub. No. US-2006-0171704; and/or Ser. No. 12/091,359, filed Oct. 27,2006 and published Oct. 1, 2009 as U.S. Pat. Pub. No. US-2009-0244361,which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Optionally, the accessory or accessories, such as those described aboveand/or below, may be positioned at or within the mirror casing and/ormirror cap portion or the like, and may be included on or integrated ina printed circuit board positioned within the mirror casing and/or capportion, such as along a rear surface of the reflective element orelsewhere within a cavity defined by the casing, without affecting thescope of the present invention. The user actuatable inputs and/or touchsensors and/or proximity sensors and displays described above may beactuatable to control and/or adjust the accessories of the mirrorassembly/system and/or overhead console and/or accessory module and/orvehicle. The connection or link between the controls and the displayscreen device and/or the navigation system and/or other systems andaccessories of the mirror system may be provided via vehicle electronicor communication systems and the like, and may be connected via variousprotocols or nodes, such as BLUETOOTH®, SCP, UBP, J1850, CAN J2284, FireWire 1394, MOST, LIN, FlexRay™, Byte Flight and/or the like, or othervehicle-based or in-vehicle communication links or systems (such as WIFIand/or IRDA) and/or the like, or via VHF or UHF or other wirelesstransmission formats, depending on the particular application of themirror/accessory system and the vehicle. Optionally, the connections orlinks may be provided via various wireless connectivity or links,without affecting the scope of the present invention.

Changes and modifications in the specifically described embodiments maybe carried out without departing from the principles of the presentinvention, which is intended to be limited only by the scope of theappended claims as interpreted according to the principles of patentlaw.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An interior rearview mirror assembly for avehicle, said interior rearview minor assembly comprising: a mirrorcasing; a prismatic interior reflective element; wherein said prismaticinterior reflective element comprises a wedge-shaped glass substratehaving a first surface and a second surface and a perimeter edge about aperiphery of said wedge-shaped glass substrate and extending between thefirst and second surfaces thereof, said wedge-shaped glass substratehaving a mirror reflector established at the second surface thereof, thefirst surface facing a driver of a vehicle when said interior rearviewmirror assembly is normally mounted in a vehicle equipped with saidinterior rearview mirror assembly; wherein a front surface of theperimeter edge provides a smooth curved transition at the perimeter edgebetween a perimeter region of the first surface of said wedge-shapedglass substrate and said mirror casing; said perimeter regioncircumscribing said wedge-shaped glass substrate; wherein the frontsurface of the perimeter edge comprises a rounded curved surfacedisposed between the first surface of said wedge-shaped glass substrateand said mirror casing; wherein the radius of curvature of the frontsurface of the perimeter edge is at least 2.5 mm; wherein no portion ofsaid mirror casing encompasses the first surface of said wedge-shapedglass substrate; and wherein an outer part of the perimeter edge of saidwedge-shaped glass substrate is co-planar with an outer part of a sidewall of said mirror casing.
 2. The interior rearview mirror assembly ofclaim 1, wherein the radius of curvature of the front surface of theperimeter edge is uniform around the perimeter of said wedge-shapedglass substrate.
 3. The interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 1,wherein said prismatic interior reflective element is adhered to saidmirror casing.
 4. The interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 1,wherein said mirror casing comprises a planar attachment surface, andwherein said prismatic interior reflective element is attached at saidattachment surface of said mirror casing to secure said prismaticinterior reflective element to said mirror casing.
 5. The interiorrearview mirror assembly of claim 1, wherein the radius of curvature ofthe front surface of the perimeter edge is non-uniform around theperimeter of said wedge-shaped glass substrate.
 6. The interior rearviewmirror assembly of claim 5, wherein the perimeter edge of saidwedge-shaped glass substrate comprises a thicker region and a thinnerregion, and wherein the radius of curvature along the thinner region ofthe perimeter edge of said wedge-shaped glass substrate is smaller thanthe radius of curvature along the thicker region of the perimeter edgeof said wedge-shaped glass substrate.
 7. The interior rearview mirrorassembly of claim 1, wherein said prismatic interior reflective elementcomprises a user input portion, said user input portion operable todetect the presence or touch of a human finger at the first surface ofsaid wedge-shaped glass substrate, said user input portion comprising atleast one capacitive touch sensor disposed at and behind the secondsurface of said wedge-shaped glass substrate.
 8. The interior rearviewmirror assembly of claim 7, wherein said at least one capacitive touchsensor comprises a plurality of capacitive touch sensors at said userinput portion, and wherein circuitry of said interior rearview mirrorassembly is operable to limit accidental actuation of a capacitive touchsensor that is adjacent to any one of said plurality of capacitive touchsensors.